Why Groom Cats? Don’t they groom themselves?
This is a phrase that professional cat groomers encounter on a regular basis. As feline-only groomers, we have heard this numerous times… usually when someone finds out what we do for a living. At first, they seem startled that someone would be insane enough to attempt this. Maybe they have tried to bathe their cat at home after it got into something, and it didn’t go so well.
Have you ever really thought about it, though? Do cats really do a good job at grooming themselves? When was the last time you have seen a feline pick up a comb or a pair of nail clippers and start using them on themselves? Sure, some cats may do an acceptable job at keeping themselves in good condition, especially if they have short hair or are young. However, we have groomed so many 12-20 year-old severely matted cats that are nervous because they have never been to the groomer before! They did not have a problem until they got older.
While it’s true that cats have abrasive tongues, and they do lick themselves, what are they really accomplishing? Do their tongues remove mats and tangles? Excessive oils? Dandruff? How about stinky presents on their rear ends? If they do manage to remove some dead coat with their tongues, that can lead to horrible hairball issues or blockages.
Being domesticated animals, a lot of cats need our help with keeping them in top condition. With so much confusion and misinformation about cats and grooming, owners often do not realize that their cat needs to be groomed until issues start to happen. A lot of our new clients have said that they didn’t realize cat grooming was a thing until they needed help!
Here are some examples from our own salon of why cats need to be groomed. We see these types of issues on a weekly (if not daily) basis!
Matted cat? We can fix that!
Cats are naturally oily. The excessive oils in the coat are what causes the mats to start. Dead hair that would naturally shed off the body get trapped in the tacky oil in the coat. As more and more dead coat gets trapped, the matting spreads and becomes what we call a “pelt” that then has to be shaved off.
Tight mats can cause sores, scarring, bruising, infection, dandruff issues, and pain. Yes, mats hurt!
The best defense against mats is a regular bathing schedule to remove the excess oil and dead hair from the coat!
What issues do we commonly see?
We provide relief to a lot of cats suffering from uncomfortable and even painful issues. Most of the issues we see can be 100% prevented with a regular grooming schedule.
We see pelted cats, ingrown toenails that are puncturing paw pads, sore skin from mats, stud tail (excessive grease buildup at the base of the tail), wounds from well-meaning owners trying to cut mats out with scissors, cats unable to poop due to mats on their rear ends, and more!
Do cats have to wait until they have these issues to be groomed? Absolutely not! It is better to prevent the issue from happening in the first place!
What about shorthaired cats?
We groom a lot of shorthaired cats here at Downtown Tabby! They often shed more than the longhaired cats do. Regular baths will go a long way to help prevent hairballs. With less dead hair to ingest while licking, hairball issues can be minimized, or even become a thing of the past!
Did you know that shorthaired cats can get matted, too? We have groomed many shorthaired cats that have had to be shaved due to excessive matting.
We could go on and on about the benefits of cat grooming, but we will leave it at that for now! The next time you hear someone tell you that cats do not need grooming, you are now armed with the knowledge you need to politely let them know that no, cats do NOT groom themselves.
