A well groomed cat is a happy cat! Cats are quite vain creatures and love to be clean and well groomed, whilst they do their best by licking themselves, they are unable to bathe, de-grease, blow dry and comb their own coats or cut their own nails when they become too long.
Cat saliva contains the protein Fel d 1, which is produced in cat saliva and sebaceous glands. This licking behaviour has the effect of covering their coat with saliva, which is the cause of most allergic reactions to cats in humans. Not to mention the amount of hair that is ingested by this behaviour, leading to hairballs and blockages in some cats.
Longer haired cats need to be groomed on a regular basis to prevent matting of the hair, which is caused by the excessive oils that most cats produce, combined with longer, shedding hair, which becomes clumped together, causing mats. Severe matting can join together to form a pelt on the body, which can severely restrict movement, damage the underlying skin and ultimately be life threatening.
If mats or knots become too numerous or impossible for the owner to brush out, many veterinarians can solve this issue by sedating the cat so that the cat can be shaved down into a lion clip to remove matting. Whilst this can be done numerous times on a younger cat, as a cat ages, this may no longer be an option, as sedation may become unsafe and their skin becomes thinner as they age, meaning shaving becomes more hazardous.
Windarra Pet Spa does not sedate animals for grooming and recommends that cats are brought in on a regular schedule whilst they are younger, to prevent such problems occurring, this way the grooming process is comfortable for the cat and they learn to enjoy a stress free grooming experience, which can continue as they age.
Cats love to look and smell good!