Any vet will tell you that more and more cats are overweight. While most aren’t in any real danger of damaging their health it does mean that they may need help to groom themselves. A cat that’s rather round simply cat reach to groom themselves properly. The areas that are most at risk of matting – even in shorthaired cats – are the areas on the hips and the back, towards the tail.
If you can start a regular regime of brushing your cat you’ll prevent a build up of grease and dander the two main contributors to matting. A rubber brush or comb is ideal for short haired cats but under no circumstances should be ued on long haired cats. This is is simply because it causes too much drag on long hair. We love the zoom groom pictured here.
Zoom Groom
A better bet for a long haired cat is what’s called a slicker paired with a wide toothed comb. The slicker won’t get down into the base of a long haired cat which is why you should pair it with a wide toothed comb. I like Ancol’s pink slicker. A slicker isn’t really designed for short haired coats – you can so easily damage the skin or just irritate your cat, but are the finishing comb of choice for long coats.
You’d be surprised at the number of short haired cats that get matted. I volunteer at a cat rescue and matted cats appear all the time. In a short haired cat it can be a sympton of neglect or that the cat has a health problem. Sadly fat cats too, even healthy ones, can get very hard matts.
If your cat has has hard matts do not be tempted to get the scissors out. Your vet, or a groomer can help. A groomer will be cheaper but check that they groom cats as some groomers don’t. A gentle vet or groomer won’t hurt your cat. If the worst comes to the worst the matt may have to be shaved although they can sometimes be teased out by hand.
Ancol Cat Slicker
