Hi there, it’s Mom. Do you brush your cat every day? Does your cat let you brush meekly? You might have tried many kinds of brushes to your cat, being unable to find a good one. Some cats love to be brushed and rush over at once, but some others detest being brushed. Especially Zoe, she now likes to be brushed but it took a long time until I found her favorite brush. In this article I will introduce how I brush Zoe and Hugo, a long haired and short haired cats, and give some recommendations of the grooming brushes.
For long-haired cats like Zoe, I use the one which is called “a slicker brush.” A slicker brush has many pins on a square surface. Zoe is mixed of Norwegian Forest Cat and Maine Coon, both of which have long hair, but she looks single-coated. So brushing her is not that tough because she does not have so much fallen hair.
For the first time I did not know that characteristics of Zoe and believed she should have lots of fallen hair just because she is long-haired. Also, some of my friends have Exotic Long Hair which are double-coated, and that makes me believe lots of Zoe’s hair should be fallen out when brushing her. I tried to brush her intensively, only resulting in not liking it.
Here are the brushes I tried for Zoe; a small slicker brush (for kittens) with a ball on the top of each pin, a rubber brush and a comb, a large slicker brush (for adult cats) without balls, and a large slicker brush with balls. Zoe complained of pain when using the one without balls even though I brushed her gently. I tried to brush her as gentle as possible but she did not like it, either. I also used a grooming rake that desheds undercoat, but it worked too much for Zoe and now she just hates it.
The large slicker brush with a ball on the top of each pin was what our vet recommended. I found out that choosing the right size for a body was very important. When I used the small brush for Zoe after she grew up, it took forever to brush and Zoe and she got bored and tried to run away. After changing to the large one, she stopped complaining and gradually got used to it.
Zoe often grooms her chin, back, thighs, and the base of the tail, so I brush those places intensively and then move to the sensitive parts like the belly and underarms. When I brush the belly and underarms, I do it very gently with a full caution. In doing the underarms, I also use a comb to remove hair balls. Zoe likes the comb very much, especially when she is combed the head.
Maine Coons are said to be wearing a pair of pantaloon, for their long hair at the back of the legs, so does Zoe whose parent was a Maine Coon. I love her wearing a pantaloon! I brush there, too, to remove hair balls.
It is said that long haired cats need to be brushed daily, but now I understand how much hair I should deshed from her. Not doing it too much is a secret of making brushing time pleasant for Zoe.
Our vet mentioned that the grooming rake is a tool to “cut” the undercoat and Zoe does not need it for a regular use because her heir is not so thick. After brushing, I wipe her out to clean her and remove the remained hair using a sheet of body towel for cats.
Hugo a short haired boy. A rubber brush is the only and definite recommendation for short haired cats. The rubber brush I use is a mitten with a rubber brush on a palm. When I brushed Hugo with it for the first time, he was so surprised like saying “What the heck is it?!” He was trying to run away from it and it took time until he used to it, but now he understands the purpose of brushing and enjoys it with purring.
When brushing Hugo, I make him sit on my knees and start from the head. Then I brush his neck, back, and tail. It is hard for Hugo to control the tail, I brush his tail intensively. I brush it by holding it gently, from base to tip. I then brush his chest and belly. That’s it! After the brush I wipe him out as I do for Zoe. I brush Hugo once a few weeks.
Mitten shape enables me to affectionately brush him, resulting in enhancing intimacy to each other. It is perfect for Hugo who likes to be cuddled. Only a shortcoming of the rubber brush is that lots of hair remains on the mitten. I have to remove all of it using an adhesive tape.
Cats have a variety of preferences. I hope you will find a suitable brush by observing the response of your cat.
