It Gets the Brush Down to the Skin or Else It Gets the Shave Again

I am a true cat groomer. I groom cats for a living. That means that I actually charge for this service and make coin at it. And in doing and so, I make life better for kitties and their owners. (Be sure to download the entirely FREE PDF on how to turn those once-a-twelvemonth clients into regular, maintenance groom clients!)

I am likewise an abet for cats. I do not similar the fact that too many of them are living life severely matted, pelted to the pare, infested with fleas, covered in waste material, or only generally dirty, greasy and smelly. I surely would hate to alive that manner myself!

Cats are egotistic little creatures. They like to look adept. They like to feel good. They were made to look good. They have pare and coat, which requires regular cleaning in order to maintain good wellness and condition. I can pretty much bet that non a single cat on the planet would choose to be matted, pelted, flea-infested or have dried excrement stuck to its hindquarters, if offered the option.

Cats are also easily stressed and highly reactive to seemingly threatening situations. They tend to be fearful creatures, ready to accept the offense than e'er be put in the position of playing defense.

Understanding a cat's reactive nature and disposition, every bit well equally its individual skin and glaze needs is the first step in providing humane handling. Some believe that bathing a true cat is inhumane, particularly if the cat is being bellicose to the grooming in whatsoever way. Merely I believe that not bathing the cat (unless there are unusual, extenuating circumstances) is the inhumane choice. Let me explicate.

These clumps are created past dead undercoat matting together with greasy oils from the cat's skin. This will need to be shaved off gently as this is an older cat with delicate skin.

Permit's consider the facts of the state of affairs and so be sure to get the Gratuitous PDF below to aid turn OAY clients into regular clients:

Cats have skin and coat, which needs to be cleaned and degreased. Cats are no different from a person or a canis familiaris or a horse. All need to be regularly bathed/cleaned. No bath = more grease, more filth, more than hairballs, more mats, and unsanitary conditions overall.

Cats have greasy skin and coat. Grease causes the hair to stick together rather than fall away during the shedding process. This, in turn, creates a tangle – or many tangles. And tangles grow up to be mats. Mats, if left lonely for a fourth dimension, volition turn into a pelted mess. Tangles, mats and pelts must be removed, and the act of doing so is painful, or highly uncomfortable at all-time.

Cats have hair that sheds and will besides felt together into a difficult knot if left to air dry. The shedding hair, if not removed on a regular basis, contributes to the matting/pelting procedure. Shedding pilus is besides the root crusade of hairball bug, which are disgusting and bad for a cat'due south health. And wet cat hair does felt! I can prove it. If you've ever seen the true cat pilus handbags I used to make back when I had more fourth dimension for such things, you will know what I'thousand talking most. I've intentionally felted true cat hair yarn to make these handbags. It felts easily (and rather tightly) simply by getting it wet and then letting it air dry. Bathing a cat and so not thoroughly drying it will produce the aforementioned results. Just, in that case, it is still attached to the cat, thus making the removal process a painful experience for the cat.

Mats are non adept for a cat. Disordered, tangled, or pelted hair creates discomfort, sores, infections, and even death. A pelted cat that cannot freely move about or potty because of blockage will die a miserable death. Fifty-fifty if none of the above occurs, the necessary removal of the pelts or mats causes undue pain and suffering for the fauna. Prevention is ever best. Prevention is the humane choice. Mat removal, although necessary when matting and pelting go a problem, is never the preferred course of action. Mats MUST be removed to avoid eventual death. Whether this is washed with clippers or during the drying procedure with a rummage, is adamant by several factors including the severity of the mats, the skin condition of the cat, age and health of the cat, and the cat's temperament. When severe matting or pelting is present, shaving becomes the only option for removal. Shaving, for cats with certain skin or health weather condition or those of an ambitious nature, is very dangerous. If information technology is the only option for rectifying the situation, information technology must be done. Simply information technology should only be done One time (because it has to)! Prevention is the key from that point forrard.

A longhaired cat in the middle of its matted pelt removal by a professional person cat groomer. Look how tightly the hair is matted together.

Cats generally hate the process of having their hair ripped out past mode of a comb or brush. If a cat is already stressed or on the defensive, information technology volition just become more than agitated past the deed of placing it on a tabular array and attempting to comb or brush its coat out, particularly if the coat is matted at all. This then produces an angrier cat and a more stressful situation for both true cat and groomer. A stressed cat can get a expressionless true cat very quickly. Repeating this process every few weeks (because the mats continue to present themselves when degreasing and blow-drying are not done) is a great mode to torture a kitty and possibly kill it.

Cats are hands distracted. This works in our favor when de-matting. I use a Catty Shack Vac to dry every true cat I groom. The circulating air movement causes most of the cats to totally relax, even the highly aggressive ones. Any de-matting that needs to be washed, can then be accomplished with minimal try on the role of the groomer and minimal discomfort for the cat, especially when the high velocity dryer does most of the piece of work by bravado out or loosening the tangles and mats. I'm not making this up! Every student who has attended our school can attest to this as I accept demonstrated it over and over again, and the students accept experienced it personally on a wide variety of felines, during class days of hands-on training.

Regular bathing and blow-drying volition prevent mats and pelts. I know this to be true because I've lived information technology for the past 13 years. If a adept degreasing bath is done on regular ground (4-six wks for most cats) and the coat is thoroughly diddled out with a high velocity dryer, matting becomes a affair of the past. It is important to also comb out the glaze thoroughly one time it is dry, to remove any loose hair that is even so hanging effectually. I accept a guarantee that I offer all clients: if they let me to groom their cat on the prescribed frequency (normally iv-6 weeks), I will guarantee their cat never gets disordered or pelted. I offer a free groom if I am wrong. And in all these years, I accept never had to give away a free groom considering of that. If I did non bath and blow-dry the cats, this would not exist the instance. Grease would build upwardly, dead coat would build upward and mats would form. But combing or brushing the cat's coat out every few weeks does zippo to remove the mat-causing factors (grease and loose hair). Instead, I would exist torturing the cats on a bi or tri-weekly basis and never solve any problems. In addition, combing or brushing a greasy, icky glaze moves the grease and ick all over, creating an even bigger problem in time and charging a customer coin to send home a muddied, smelly cat. This is not professional person grooming. This is inhumane. And really, when you get down to information technology, information technology'south a lot like stealing – charging money for something you're not really doing.

The facts are the facts. If you don't believe me, I volition show information technology to you.

Because these facts are true, it is easy to determine the about humane treatment of a cat during the grooming process.

Expect at it this manner:
Kitty is pelted. He has thin skin and is aggressive and hates clippers. He tin can't be sedated because of his age. The pelt will only come off by using clippers to remove it. Shaving is dangerous considering the cat's pare is so thin from age and/or health issues. The risk of nicking or cutting the cat is very high. Shaving the pelt off requires using a clipper bract very close to the cat's pare, and sometimes the ability to see what is underneath is inhibited by the pelt. In addition, the cat's temperament makes him very disagreeable to the shaving process under normal conditions. How much more than stressful when it involves lifting and pulling on a tight pelt that has created open sores underneath!

Because of the cat's age or health, anesthesia or sedation is as well risky and volition non be done by the client's veterinarian. So what are we left with?

This bald spot of irritation was underneath matting. The mats pull the hair so much, that information technology causes hair loss.

If the pelt isn't removed the cat will dice. It might take a few more than weeks or months. But eventually the cat will dice. And it volition exist a long, painful death, filled with tremendous suffering as the cat becomes septic and rots from the inside out.

Or the pelt tin be removed. However, the risk of cutting or nicking the skin still exists. At that place is also a possibility that the cat will dice from the stress of the pelt-removal shaving.

Which practice we choose? It really is the lesser of two evils in this scenario. Neither pick is a good one. On i side, certain decease. On the other side, take chances of impairment or death. This is the reality of the situation.

Why does this happen?
Sometimes this happens considering the cat possessor is ignorant of their true cat'southward grooming needs. This is non the person's mistake. We have heard for mode also long the myths that "cats groom themselves" or "cats hate water." Perpetuating these myths is a disservice to cats and their owners.

Sometimes this happens considering owners don't intendance.

And sometimes this happens considering grooming professionals believe that bathing a cat is inhumane. If only groomers would advocate for the true cat and offer preventative bathing and blow-drying to begin with! Prevention is humane! If we can work toward total abstention of the "lesser of 2 evils" scenario – of a option between certain death and risk of harm or death, why are we not doing this? Let's stop beingness inhumane and make a concerted effort to piece of work toward the betterment of these fiddling fur balls we are supposed to be helping.

If anyone is telling yous that cats don't demand grooms that consist of a real bath and blow-dry, then they do non know what they are talking about. One has to consider if ane speaking such nonsense is afraid to really groom cats or if they merely don't know what they are doing and thus have had bad experiences.

Personally I am disheartened past the amount of misinformation floating virtually that ultimately makes a mess for cats and their owners and puts groomers in a position of having to make hard choices like the case above. That, my friends, is the image of inhumane. At that place are no excuses for this to go on.

Education is the key to prevention. If you don't understand what I'm talking about, then how can it be finer communicated to your clients so that they sympathise it?

Training is as well vitally of import. If a cat is mishandled, the outcome can exist devastating. Education and grooming makes all the difference! It tin can turn a bad scenario into a productive and hopeful ane. It is our job to ensure that this is happening each and every time. Let'southward make the industry better by being truly professional and humane. Permit's make the earth meliorate 1 true cat groom at a time!

This DLH Red Tabby is in need of a full groom and haircut!

Later on a bath, blow dry and Panthera leo Cut, this DLH Red Tabby looks stunning!

Luckily this Brown Patched Tabby and White Persian is not so matted the hair needed to exist shaved off. A regular grooming appointment would keep them looking pinnacle notch all year round.

After a Full Coat Groom, which include a degreasing bath and accident dry.

If you are a cat owner looking for a professional groomer in your area that specializes in cats, check out our map of NCGIA Members and Certified Feline Master Groomers at www.nationalcatgroomers.com.

Every bit a professional groomer, information technology is important to get clients on a regular grooming schedule to keep their cats in great condition. But how is this washed? Get our totally free PDF with the iii steps nosotros used to get our clients off the once-a-year groom mentality and onto our schedule once a month. Hit the red button to become information technology at present.

Happy cat grooming!

Danelle

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Source: https://nationalcatgroomers.com/what-is-humane/