Biology Reference
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you are met with hissing and claws, stop and talk calmly to the cat. At
first, you may need to hold the cat by the scruff of her neck to keep her
still when you comb her. Short, frequent combing sessions will help
train her to accept, and even enjoy, grooming. Kittens who do not like
being combed may prefer a soft-bristle brush.
Kittens who are trained to allow grooming are more tolerant of
grooming as adults. It is much easier to handle a two-pound kitten than
an unhappy, 10-pound adult, so it is worth the energy to work on train-
ing your cat while she's still young.
If you are having a tough time trying to comb your cat, you might
want to enlist the support of a friend or a relative to help hold her.
Giving a food treat to the cat after a successful brushing session will
positively reinforce the idea of sitting still for grooming. Some cats like
to be combed while they are eating. Eating can provide a good distrac-
tion to the animal and give you an opportunity to get a few strokes in.
(However, some cats like to be left absolutely alone while they eat, and
you must respect your cat's preferences.)
The only grooming tool that I think is essential for every cat is a
flea comb, and your cat does not have to have fleas in order to bene-
fit. A flea comb has dense, fine teeth. The most user-friendly flea
combs have easy-to-hold handles and metal (as opposed to plastic)
teeth. A shorthaired cat can be combed from her head to the tip of
her tail with a flea comb, but this tool is too fine to use on animals
with longer hair.
I routinely use a flea comb on every cat I examine. Its purpose is
twofold: to determine if fleas are present, and to check for scabs, scales
and dead hair. Owners often look at me in amazement when I comb
out a significant amount of hair from their cat, but the fine teeth of the
flea comb are excellent at catching stray hairs and getting below the
surface hair. If fleas are present, flea dirt and live fleas are caught in the
dense teeth of the comb.
Flea combs can be useful for removing small knots in short hair, but
the pull is too strong for mats on cats with more hair. If your cat gets
food or other substances on her coat, a flea comb can be used to comb
the materials out of the hair.The disadvantages of a flea comb are that
it can break hairs easily if it is used too vigorously, it can be painful to
use on longhaired cats or those with matted fur, and if the fine teeth
become bent, they can scratch the cat.
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