People tell me their cat grooms itself. The cat is very happy for them to keep thinking that.
I have been grooming for more than twenty years, and cats are the animal owners most often assume need nothing from us. There is a difference between a cat that is busy and a cat that is clean, and it is worth understanding what that difference actually is.
Cats do not groom themselves. They lick themselves. Licking will not remove a mat, kill a flea, clear dandruff, deodorise a coat, trim a sharp nail or clean up a mess. If we licked ourselves all over we would not be clean. We would be covered in saliva.
Every cat mats eventually
It makes no difference whether the cat is long haired or short haired, purebred or moggy. Cat skin produces oil and that oil works its way through the coat. Some cats are greasier than others, and many become greasier as they age or if a health problem develops.
At the same time, cats shed. Short haired cats often shed more than long haired ones, which surprises people. When shed hair meets an oily coat it does not fall away cleanly. It sticks to the hair still attached and a small tangle forms. More hair sheds under and around it, the tangle becomes a mat, and several mats in different places will eventually join into one solid pelt that tightens toward the skin. Sores develop underneath.
None of that happens overnight, which is precisely why it catches owners out. It is slow, and it only becomes obvious once it is well advanced.
Brushing
Regular brushing lifts out dead hair, dirt and debris before it has the chance to bind. It cuts down on shedding, on hair through your house, and on hairballs, which otherwise build up in the digestive system and end up on the carpet.
Twice a week is a reasonable target for most cats. Long haired breeds need more than that.
Bathing
Yes, you can bathe a cat. The better question is whether you should be the one doing it. A proper degreasing bath and blow dry is the single most effective defence against matting, because it strips the oil that makes the coat gummy in the first place. Done well it takes skill, the right products, and a cat that is handled correctly from start to finish.
If you are set on doing it at home, stick to the body, wipe the face with a damp cloth only, and be quick. Speed reduces stress more than anything else within your control.
Clipping and nails
Long haired cats often benefit from being clipped, sometimes fully, to stay cool, comfortable and free of mats. That is professional work rather than kitchen table work.
Nails wear down through activity and scratching, but if your cat is catching on the furniture or feels prickly on your lap, they are due a trim.
How we do it here
Cats are groomed at our Broadbeach Waters salon on the Gold Coast, in a separate cat room away from the noise and movement of the dog salon, in the morning session only. Drop off is 8am and we will call or text as soon as your cat is finished rather than leave them sitting here longer than they need to be.
We do not sedate cats. We have muzzles for the feisty ones, and if a cat is genuinely too aggressive to groom safely I will tell you so and send you to your vet, rather than push on and make every future visit worse. Getting that judgement right matters more to me than finishing the groom.
Grooming a cat properly is not a luxury and it is not vanity. It is the difference between a coat that stays manageable and one that ends up shaved off under sedation at the vet.
