There are as many different ways to style an animal for a show as there are people who raise dogs. A great deal is determined by factors such as the age of the cat, the sex, the season, the color, and the texture of the coat.
Grooming Your Show Persian Cat
There are instances when brushing a show coat on a daily basis can really do more harm than good. You can check the coat several times a day by simply touching the cat. If you feel the beginning of a small snarl, then you should use a metal comb with wide teeth to straighten it out. Never use a slicker brush for daily deep combing or any other sort of daily combing. The slicker brush’s wire teeth will pull out all of the undercoats, leaving behind only the coarse, long guard hairs from the outer coat. Because of this, the coat will end up feeling rough and wirey.
Most show Persian owners, bathe the cat at least the night before the show, though some can be done even a day or two before the show. Some people even bathe the morning of the show, both days. The most important part of the bath is the rinse. Be sure to rinse all the soap out. The biggest mistake many people make in grooming is leaving some soap in the coat. After the bath, push as much water off the coat in the sink as you can. Next put the cat on a pile of absorbent towels. Then using good quality, paper towels, soak up as much water as you can from all over the cat. Pay special attention to the face, head, front and back legs, belly, and tail. These are the hardest parts to get dry and the areas the cat is most likely to object to grooming. They are also the first areas to get crumpled and greasy. After the coat is almost dry to the touch, use a regular bath towel to “fluff dry” the cat. This will separate the coat and make it easier for air to get in and make the coat fluffy.
The powder is a very important grooming tool. It can help you in the drying process and in the show hall, help absorb grease as the day wears on. There is a process called powder packing: you can sprinkle small amounts of cornstarch baby powder into the damp coat, behind the ears, into the legs, and belly after bathing (then blow it out with the hair dryer). This will make a mess when you turn the dryer on…so you may want to practice this with a dry coat first until you are comfortable working with powder.
If you are serious about showing, then invest in a professional grooming dryer, such as the Oster brand tabletop/cage dryer. Dryers run about $160 and should last forever. They are more powerful and do not get as hot as a regular “people” hairdryer. They also make a lower pitch sound, which does not seem to bother the cats as much. Best of all, it leaves both of your hands-free to groom the cat while he/she is being dried.
Turn on the dryer. There are a couple of ways to start. One way is to put the cat in a carrier. Turn the dryer on into the carrier and fluff the coat with your fingers every few minutes. If you do this, be very careful that the dryer does not get too hot (especially if you are using a regular “people” hair dryer). Another way is to put the cat on dry towels or a rack. Just set the dryer, cat, and all your grooming tools up on a table, and get comfortable. Start off by just having the dryer do the work, while you fluff the coat all over with your fingers. As the coat dries, you can start using either a wide-tooth metal comb or a pin brush (without any balls on the end of the pins). Do not use a fine-tooth comb, slicker brush, or any type of plastic brush. This will only make static or pull the hair out. From start to finish, a well-coated Persian (depending on size/age) will take anywhere from 2 to 4 hours to groom. The secret to growing a beautiful show coat is a bath and grooming every single week.
Train Your Cat To Be Groomed
To ensure that your cat receives the best possible care, it is essential that you groom it on a daily basis. In addition, the health of your cat will be preserved if you provide it with the appropriate care.
It is necessary to perform grooming tasks such as brushing, combing, trimming nails, and cleaning ears and canals. Regularly doing even the most fundamental acts of grooming will aid in the prevention of scratching furniture and the management of hairballs.
The prevention and treatment of hairballs in cats can be accomplished with the use of a variety of products designed specifically for this purpose. You must not mistake this for a replacement for this particular aspect of the grooming. You can get more information about these products by visiting the website of your preferred pet store.
When training your cat for grooming, one of the first things you will want to be done, is to have the cat to be able to relax in your lap. Petting your cat gently on the head and then you will want to pet him down the back and continue till you see that your cat is comfortable with you petting him in the areas that you will be grooming. Next, you will want to press gently on the paw pads to look at the nails, you will want to work on checking the ears. When you have achieved all these things, this is the time to introduce the brush by letting him check the brush out. Carefully start to brush him until you see your cat being comfortable with the brush. Remember a cat’s skin is sensitive and you will want to take real gentle precautions when grooming.
Training your cat to be comb will be the same step you have taken to be able to brush your cat. Be gentle, cats hair is easily matted, snarled, and skin sensitivity. If you use precaution with doing the combing and you cause pain to your cat, they may not let you do this. Brushing a cat’s hair is very important, also with long hair cats combing needs to be done. Combing it helps get out the loose hair and will make nice-looking fur for the cat.
Clipping nails, if you have never clipped your cat’s nails, please talk to a veterinarian, or local groomers, search articles about it, read books and be very careful when you are cutting them. One thing to practice is having someone with you to help with this, so if the cat tries to move you have reinforcements. When cutting a cat’s nail, toward the paw is a pink area that you do not want to clip. This will be very painful for the cat and a visit to the vet quickly. Make sure when doing this that the cat is very comfortable with you touching its paws. Talk to him when cutting the nails to reassure him it is fine and soon will be done. If your cat seems annoyed with cutting their nails, stop, and try later. If you are unable to do this, cat groomers trained to cut nails can do this for you and most time very inexpensive, a lot less than a vet bill.
Cleaning your cat’s ears is another basic grooming process, as in the first part of the article, which makes sure the cat is comfortable with the touching of its ears. Once you know that you are able to touch your cat’s ears, now is the time to clean.
Use soft tip q-tips for this part, gently at first rub the q-tip around the outside of the ear working your way to the inside to be able to clean the ear. If at any time the cat resists, stop redirecting the cat and then continue until you can successfully clean the ears.
Grooming your cat is also caring for your pet; just feeding your cat is caring. Grooming is also a great way to interact with your pet, for healthy relationships.
Search out more information on training your pet, and tools to help with the training and caring for your pet. Check out books, pet stores, search on the internet there are great articles, ideas, and suggestions on training your pet. One way of training may not work but someone else may have a different approach. Not all cats train the same, just as we do not teach the same.
