Cats are quite low maintenance creatures. They keep themselves compulsively clean, which makes their upkeep easier for us. Cats are famed for their cleanliness. They have a coarse tongue, which helps them get rid of loose hair and dead skin cells. Despite this, most cats will benefit from regular brushing. This will help remove loose hair and dead skin cells, and distribute the skin’s natural oils evenly along the coat. My cats also love and enjoy a good brushing session, as they get a free massage!
Cats primarily have two layers of coats. The undercoat is the soft fur that keeps the cat warm. The external, outer coat comprises of coarse, long, straight hair. They keep the cat dry.
Cats and Baths
Typically, an Indian domestic short hair cat doesn't need a bath. They groom and lick themselves clean every single day. You will rarely find an indoor cat be smelly or dirty. They also hate baths, with a vengeance, so it will be quite the challenge to bathe them
There are people who bathe their cats regularly, I believe a long-haired cat may need regular baths. If you do want to bathe your cat, try and get it used to it from kittenhood. If a bath really stresses your cat out, ask yourself if it's really necessary. If you take your cat to a groomer, absolutely refuse to sedate your cat for a bath. Sedation or anesthesia must be done only for medical procedures, and by a qualified vet. I have known of cats becoming seriously ill or dying on the grooming table because of this. Anesthesia can affect your cat's heart rate, blood pressure, and body temperature among other things, and unless a qualified vet is present, please do not put your cat through this.
I have never bathed my cats. In the odd event that I find one of them dirty or smelly, I use a baby wipe, or a towel soaked in warm water and give them a thorough rub down. I find that this usually solves the problem, and doesn't stress them out much. I am unable to recommend cat shampoos as I do not have any experience in that area, sorry!
Fur Control
Brushing your cat regularly will help control the amount of fur it sheds - which in turn helps keep your house and furniture fur-free. It also controls dander, which may be a source of allergies. Cats, while grooming themselves, swallow some of their fur, which causes hairballs. They often vomit these hairballs out, and in some unfortunate cases, the hairballs can cause intestinal blockages, seriously affecting the health of your cat.
I have used a variety of brushes, and here are the ones that have worked the best for me:
1)
This is a regular kind of a brush with slightly hard bristles, which removes loose hair easily and leaves the fur softer. Buying a brush with very soft bristles doesn't work too well as it only gives a superficial brushing to the outer coat.
2)
This is another glove brush which seems quite effective in pulling out loose hair from the undercoat of the cat. My only concern with this my fear with this product is that it may be pulling out an excessive amount of hair, and not just the loose ones - that's what it seems like based on my experience.
3)
This is my favorite grooming product. It's a variation/different brand of FURminatior, which is a very popular grooming tool abroad. It is basically a clipper blade mounted on a brush handle. It safely removes loose hair from both the undercoat and the outercoat without harming the skin or causing pain.
4)
One other amazing product I've been using regularly is Allerpet Cat Dander Remover. Totem has a lot of dander on and off, and this product not only helps control dander, but also cleans and conditions his coat, making it quite soft. While I'm not allergic to it, cat dander is a major cause of allergies in humans, and Allerpet helps address this issue.
All these products are available on Amazon.in/Amazon.com, Dogspot and Red Paws Shop (I usually buy my pet supplies from one of these websites). All pictures taken from Amazon.com/Amazon.in.
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