The Lemon Fool

We have kept cats for all our married life and are quite used to handling them.

A few months ago we had our first British longhair and she is on the hairy side for this breed. Now that she is settled in we are looking to groom her properly, which may be difficult using a conventional cat brush and comb.

Can anyone give us any tips on how to do this or recommend any special equipment?

Thanks

I think that the cat has a tongue, well suited to the task.

TJH

tjh290633 wrote:I think that the cat has a tongue, well suited to the task.

TJH

On a shorthair, the cat's tongue is probably up to the task.

On a longhair, some of the hair gets swallowed, then is eventually brought up as furballs.

And there may be some areas where the cat cannot groom well, so the fur becomes matted and has to be cut out. This is likely to happen on the flanks.

DAMHIK

Watis

OH uses one of these on the cat:

https://www.amazon.co.uk/cat-grooming-glove/s?k=cat+grooming+glove

RC

Watis wrote:

tjh290633 wrote:I think that the cat has a tongue, well suited to the task.

TJH

On a shorthair, the cat's tongue is probably up to the task.

On a longhair, some of the hair gets swallowed, then is eventually brought up as furballs.

And there may be some areas where the cat cannot groom well, so the fur becomes matted and has to be cut out. This is likely to happen on the flanks.

DAMHIK

Watis

It never happened with ours. She seemed very capable of taking care of her personal grooming.

TJH

I heard about this on the radio the other week

https://moderncat.com/articles/shop/licki-brush/
Bond with your cat. Like a cat! The LICKI brush from PDX Pet Design may seem weird and wacky (it is!) but it is also a fun way to bond with your cat while grooming them.

Soothe yourself: "licking" your cat is an oddly meditative practice, soothing for you and kitty;
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3hPMc89sKhk&t=2s

kempiejon wrote:I heard about this on the radio the other week

Of course you did!
...and now it's gone into my Google algorithm

tjh290633 wrote:

Watis wrote:
On a shorthair, the cat's tongue is probably up to the task.

On a longhair, some of the hair gets swallowed, then is eventually brought up as furballs.

And there may be some areas where the cat cannot groom well, so the fur becomes matted and has to be cut out. This is likely to happen on the flanks.

DAMHIK

Watis

It never happened with ours. She seemed very capable of taking care of her personal grooming.

TJH

Our female cat is a bit useless in this regard
- some of the hair on her undercarriage is sufficiently long that she can't pull her head back far enough (but it's really funny watching her try)
She does like being brushed though with a fine wire brush (like one would use on a fleece) with the benefit we get fewer furball surprises

Nemo wrote:...we are looking to groom her properly, which may be difficult using a conventional cat brush and comb.

Yes, she may need daily attention, especially in Spring.
A lot depends on how agreeable she is.

Your local pet shop will have options, but the brilliantly named Furminator gets a good press.

V8

88V8 wrote:

Nemo wrote:...we are looking to groom her properly, which may be difficult using a conventional cat brush and comb.

Yes, she may need daily attention, especially in Spring.
A lot depends on how agreeable she is.

Your local pet shop will have options, but the brilliantly named Furminator gets a good press.

V8

She's not too aggressive but doesn't like it very much and trying to wrestle with a cat while grooming it can be a problem.