How To Groom
Your Cat's Coat

By Teri Champigny

Cats are very simple to groom, using the right grooming tools helps, especially once they get used to being brushed and combed.  This is true regardless of what type of cat you own: short haired cats, medium haired cats, and wire-haired cats. All you have to do is run the comb over their fur and follow through with a grooming glove or slicker brush to create a soft coat that is filled with luster and shine.

Grooming Short-haired Cats

One huge benefit of grooming a short-haired cat such as a Cornish Rex is that you can use a flea comb on their fur. Flea combs are brushes that have very narrowly placed teeth that scrape up those pesky little fleas while at the same time giving your cat's fur a thorough brushing. 

When using this type of brush, you must use the fine comb first and then flea comb starting from the skin out.  Do this in small lengths at a time, never hard, and dip the fleas into a bowl of soapy water as you catch them.  After you have finished, simply flush the fleas down the toilet to get rid of them.

Caution: It is important to realize that even though using a flea comb is a great way to remove fleas from your cat during grooming, this does not solve the issue of having parasites living on your cat's skin. You must take further action to get rid of these pesky little creatures. Consult with your veterinarian for more information on flea and other parasite control.

Grooming Long-haired Cats

Long-haired cats, on the other hand, cannot easily be groomed and brushed with a flea comb. Brushing the fur of a Persian cat is more involved than brushing a Colorpoint Shorthair. Long-haired cats require different grooming tools and procedures to obtain maximum cleanliness and shine. Here are four very simple steps to follow:

1. First take a medium or course comb and split your cat's coat into different sections. Be sure to work through the fur in a gentle and slow manner.

2. Next, do exactly as you did in step one but this time use a fine-toothed comb.

3. Follow through now with a good brushing, still working with small sections at a time. This time use a pin brush and work against the grain of the fur.

4. Lastly, be sure to shower your cat with lots and lots of praise and play with him afterwards.  This helps in creating a tighter bond between you and your pet and also makes it easier to groom and brush him in the future.