Dirty cats aren’t anyone’s friend, so it is important that you look after your pet and ensure that cat health care is top of the agenda. Keep your pet healthy and happy with regular grooming sessions to ensure its fur is clean. Your grooming ritual can begin in many different ways, but it is recommended that you start with brushing to keep the cat’s fur looking good. Brush your cat’s hair and keep the fur looking clean and healthy, which will in turn prevent hairballs from forming. Many cats find it difficult to dislodge hairballs. Hopefully, your cat will be able to remove the hairball quickly and easily, but in some cases a stuck hairball can cause a blockage in the intestinal area. As a pet owner, it is important not to overlook stuck hairballs, as these can become very serious for your pet.

If you cat has long hair, you will need to brush this daily to keep on top of your cat health care routine; for short haired cats this can be stretched to weekly. Keep your eyes peeled for skin problems when brushing your cat. Always start brushing along the cat’s back and move the comb from the head to the tail to optimise the grooming process. Be sure to follow this rule and brush a few times on one side, then switch over to the other side. Brush or gently comb your cat’s hair in the direction that the hair grows, so that you can keep it looking glossy and not pull too hard on its fur.

Some pet owners often make the mistake of brushing the face and paws of their cat, but it is important that you do not do this. If you have a cat that tries to hide when you bring out the brush, there is something else you can use that might be a little more pleasing to him. You might find your cat loves the use of a grooming glove on its fur, which is often a much gentler alternative to using a brush. In order to get your cat used to grooming, it is best to start him young so that he can get used to it. If you start grooming them when they are young, many cats warm quickly to the idea of grooming and therefore many get older and don’t dread the moment you walk over with a brush as part of the daily cat health care process.

It is always a good idea to keep an eye out for anything untoward on your cat, such as a rotting tooth or even something like a sharp claw, as these can cause problems for your cat in later life. Your cat’s eyes should be crystal clear, so if you see anything that doesn’t look quite right, be sure to notify a vet immediately. Check the colour of the inner ears on your cat to ensure they are pink and look perfectly clean, as this will prevent the chance of ear mites. As nearly every animal is prone to some form of dirt build up, the ear is one place that you want to try and make sure it is avoided, because if untreated it can cause ear shrivelling and hearing loss. The poor cat will suffer terribly with ear mites, as they can be irritating and don’t go away easily, so prevention is always the best cure. By performing regular health checks, your pet will stand a better chance of not being subject to ear mites in the future.

Use your cat grooming time to explore your cat and feel for lumps and bumps, so that you can identify small problems before they get much worse. Having a cat that remains still during grooming is often hard to find, but if you have a very calm and placid pet then it is always good to reward your cat with a biscuit or suchlike to show him that he has done well. Are you suffering with a problem cat? The trick is not to try too hard to let you groom him, and instead try it on a different day. As a pet owner, you can easily make your cat health care routine a resounding success when your cat has come round to the idea of being brushed – it may just take a little time.