(no subject)

posted by [personal profile] augustphoenix at 04:25am on 20/02/2011
I can't help with the toothbrushing >_>

Re: hair-brushing
Have you tried different kinds of brushes and combs, like the sort with rotating bristles (that's what my vet recommended for our long-hairs), or the gloved brushes that are like petting?

Re: Claw trimming
We try to get them when they're relaxed and M cradles the cats while I quickly trim as many of their front claws as possible until they start to wiggle. Then we repeat the process later until all front claws are trimmed. Madeline needed to be cocooned in a towel with only the paw of interest sticking out. (We've never tried that method on Sheba, because it would probably scar her psyche further. Sebastion is chill enough to just need to be cradled.)

While it may not be an issue now, as cats get older they usually need some help with the grooming. Madeline was prone to claws that would grow so much they curled around and started poking into her paw pads (leading to vet visits to get them removed), and they can get lazier with the fur grooming as well, leading to more matting. I'd suggest figuring out what works for them now, and you can save yourself some unhappy older cats (and owners) down the road ^_^
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sigelphoenix: (kershach)

(no subject)

posted by [personal profile] sigelphoenix at 04:47am on 20/02/2011
That's a good point about when they get older. I rub their paws every once in awhile - a holdover from when I was trying to start a claw-trimming routine with Kershach, and I heard it was a good way to make them calm about being handled that way - so I think I would catch any incorrectly growing claws. But it's probably worth it to at least figure out how to accomplish trimming, like you said (and also [personal profile] cypher's point about kneading might be enough reason for me to do it now).

For brushing, I have a Zoom Groom (though it works better for cleaning the cat tree than grooming the cats, so that's what I use it for) and a Furminator. I'm not sure what the rotating-bristle type is?

Thanks!
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(no subject)

posted by [personal profile] augustphoenix at 05:05am on 20/02/2011
This is the name brand rotating teeth brush (we have another brand, but the technology is the same). When I brought Sebastion to the vet with a mass of matted tangles, we were using the Furminator, and our vet suggested the Untangler instead. Both our fuzzballs seem to enjoy it more than they did with the Furminator, and it seems to do a better job keeping and removing matts (when we've gotten lazy >_>;).
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sigelphoenix: (kershach)

(no subject)

posted by [personal profile] sigelphoenix at 05:57am on 20/02/2011
Oh, I see. I haven't yet had to deal with any mats (besides the kind that can be clipped off without harm), but I'll keep that in mind for if/when I do.
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