Grooming Your Kitten

While cats will naturally groom and look after themselves, we still need to groom them regularly. Yes, even those with a short coat! Getting your kitten used to being washed (yes, cats can get used to being bathed!) and handled from an early age makes for an easy and comfortable grooming experience for both of you for years to come. Regular grooming helps to maintain a healthy coat and keeps skin issues and parasites at bay. It also helps to minimise shedding and prevents matting and hairballs in cats with longer coats.

The type of coat your cat has will determine the type of grooming tools you use. Long haired coats will benefit from a detangling spray and frequent brushing with a comb or slicker brush. Whereas a bristle brush or deshedding brush is better suited for short haired cats.

Cats are generally great at keeping themselves clean but even the cleanest indoor cat can be prone to ear infections. Therefore, it’s a good idea to check your cat’s ears regularly and if you see them shaking their head, scratching more than normal or notice any discharge, apply some ear drops or bring them to the vet for a check-up.

Keep your kitten’s eye area clean by regularly wiping the area with specially formulated eye wipes. if you have a light coated cat, also consider using a tear stain remover to gently clean around the eye area to prevent tear stains.

Regular scratching on a scratching post will naturally file down your kitten’s nails but you should also check them regularly and cut or file them back if they start to get too long.