What should you do if your cat’s claws start getting a bit long?

What should you do if your cat’s claws start getting a bit long? It’s a good idea to clip your cat’s claws every now and then: certainly it’s far more humane and caring that declawing. Your cat needs its claws for protection, for climbing up trees and other hard to reach places (both when hunting and fleeing from danger). Trimming down your cat’s claw every now and then can, however, save your furniture some serious damage. Make sure your cat is relaxed when you approach him or her. Hold your cat gently but firmly, and systematically go from claw to claw. If the cat struggles, don’t force it too much. Sometimes you have to do these things in stages. Remember not to clip them too short. What also works is having a friend (someone the cat knows and trusts) tickle or stroke her back while you get on with business of cutting. This helps distract the cat.

Pet Grooming

A well groomed animal is a happy animal, and a well groomed animal is also far more likely to be a healthier animal too! Paying attention to your animal’s fur, skin and general grooming needs will add great value to not only their life but to yours as well! Grooming will make your pet look and feel good and for those blisteringly hot summer months your long haired pets may even appreciate a grooming hair cut to help keep them cool – and don’t worry their fur will be grown back by the time the coolness of Winter begins to set in.

One of the greatest health benefits that you will gain from regularly grooming your pet is that you will pick up on certain health risks a lot faster, as they will be easily and quickly spotted. This means that any parasites – such as fleas, ticks and even worms can be detected early on and you can get treatment for your pet before the onset of any more potentially serious problems.

Grooming also gives you a chance to spend some great time with your pet if you choose to do the grooming yourself, or your pet can enjoy a trip away from the house to a specialised pet grooming parlour.

Grooming

Not all dogs and cats have the same grooming needs. Depending on your pet’s particular breed type their needs and habits regarding grooming can be quite different to their other domestic animal counterparts. The distinctions in grooming that are most obvious are the differences in grooming needs between long, medium and short haired pets. The first notable thing to say about these differences is that one should not always assume that the shorter the hair, the easier it is to maintain. Although this is a general rule there are a number of grooming exceptions.

The grooming exceptions range from Rex Cats and other pets that sport very little fur and who need a lot of care and distinctive grooming, and may even require sunscreen to protect their skin from harm and sun, as these pets do not have the protection that fur affords other breed types.

Long haired animals require grooming to keep their fur from matting. To do this the best grooming solution is regular combing of the fur and bathing of your dog. Medium to short haired animals do generally require less stringent grooming but still need to combed and bathed. And do remember that grooming is not just an external practice - to keep the fur healthy and strong you can help your pet’s grooming from the ground level by ensuring that they are healthy and that they eat well too!

Grooming parlours: be careful what you say!

About a week ago a friend of mine decided to take her three year old long-haired corgi to a grooming parlour for the first time. She had decided to go because she was finding it hard to keep up with the brushing of her dog, Bess’s, fur. Now as you know corgis, like all other long haired animals, need to be regularly groomed to prevent knotting and matting of the fur. Bess’s fur had not reached any stages of severe matting, just a few knots here and there and with my friend’s schedule she just was not able to spend the time combing out the little knots each day.
Instead of battling and feeling guilty about it she decided that a visit to the nearby animal grooming parlour would do Bess the world of good.

So my friend booked Bess an appointment for early Saturday morning, dropped Bess off and explained to the assistant at the grooming parlour that she was having trouble keeping up with combing out her dog’s fur, etc. and the assistant told her not to worry and that she could pick up a well groomed Bess in an hour.

One hour later my friend returned to pick up Bess and to her shock could barley recognise her own dog who now sported a completely short hair cut!
The assistant had apparently misunderstood that all Bess needed was some good grooming and had assumed that shorter fur would help both Bess and her owner keep the knots out of Bess’s beautiful long fur.

Grooming parlours can be great and extremely useful to busy pet owners but be sure to be clear about what you want them to do for your dog – or you too might end up with a close shave and barely recognise your own dog!

Pet grooming opportunities

Ever thought of a career in animal grooming? Well if you love animals, care about their hygiene and good looks then being a dog, cat or other animal groomer may be just the job that you have been searching for! As with most careers you first and foremostly need to have a passion and a love for the work that you are going to be doing, then you may want some extra and specialised training so that you are up to date with the best ways to make sure that someone’s pet is looking their absolute best after a session of animal grooming with you.

There are many ways to get started in the pet grooming industry – from offering washing and brushing services to being a highly specialised dog or cat groomer. As a pet groomer you can work at animal kennels, veterinary clinics, pet supply stores, animal shelters, in a grooming focused store, and you could even offer a mobile service.

Proper animal grooming is very important and as a valuable service to pet owners you can make a huge difference to the lives of so many people while also contributing to the well being and good looks of their pets.

Pet Grooming

If a long haired cat or dog is not quite the pet for you then you should take a look at some of the adorable – and just as cuddly – short hair cats or dogs. This leaves you with the larger majority of the pet kingdom to choose from as most domestic animals fall into the category of long or medium haired. As with the longer haired pets you can have your pick of color and with the dogs you can still have the choice of size too. So choosing a short or medium haired breed of cat or dog means that you will not have to spend extra time seeing to the grooming of long fur and you can save time on the brushing and bathing and more regular trips to the grooming parlors. Short to medium haired dog breeds you could take a look at include terriers to short haired Labradors. While in the cat world you could look at just about any type of cat and find the short to medium haired equivalent, from Siamese cats to tabbies, tortoise-shell, ginger, black and a wide array of colors. You could, if you are drawn to them and are very serious about as little fur as possible, even choose to adopt a Rex breed of cat into your home.

Grooming Parlour tidbits

Choosing a pet that is suited to you and to your family means that it well worth the time to make sure that the pet that you choose to bring into your family is the right one. This means that you can consider the size of your home and garden space, and the time that you can dedicate to your pet when deciding on the right breed of cat or dog. Long haired animals such as Persian cats are gorgeous animals and are a delight to stroke and to have around. They look great and long haired domestic cats come in a variety of colors and breeds. This means that if you are drawn to ginger cats, or black or grey or tabby, bi-colored, tortoise-shell or any other type of cat you are very likely to find a fluffy and cuddly long haired cat in that color too. And if their coats form a combination of a few colors altogether their fur is then referred to as ‘smoke’. Long haired pets are exceptionally beautiful but they require a little more time and attention when it comes to taking care of their fur. So a bit of time and an occasional visit to the grooming parlour could prove invaluable.

The benefits of pet grooming

A shiny coat on our cats or dogs not only looks good and is very pleasing to the eye of a pet owner but is also generally a sign that the pet is physically well and in good health. Knowing that your pet’s exterior is well taken care of and looked after through regular grooming means that you will very quickly notice when something is wrong with your cat or dog.

In this, the grooming of your cat or dog can be a way of making sure that your pet has a good bill of health. Not only will their coats and general good feeling be improved through regular grooming but you will also be able to keep yourself aware of any physical changes in your pet. If your pet is kept clean, and in the case of long haired cats or dogs is kept brushed, you will easily be able to pick up on the dulling of their fur or any other unusual changes in your pet’s appearance that may stem from a medical or health reason. Keeping in touch with your vet and having your pet’s health protected with insurance cover means that while you are taking care of your pet’s grooming needs you are also guarded against any unexpected accidents and visits to the vet.

Looking good! Some thoughts on pet grooming...

Is your pet’s coat looking a little tattered and dull? Or does your long furred dog seem to panting a more than usual now that it is summer? A visit to a pet grooming parlor could get your pet back into tip-top condition. With pet insurance taking care of your animal’s health needs you have a lot more freedom to take care of you animal’s comfort needs. Pet insurance with Medipet covers your pet from snake bites to hip replacements, so while you can rest assured that your animal’s health will be covered no matter what, you also now have the time to take care of your pet’s grooming needs.

Grooming parlors offer a range of services from brushing and bathing to nail clipping and fur trimming. In the heat of summer long haired dogs may suffer a little under the warmth of a thick fur coat, a little visit to a parlor and a hair cut can save your pet from discomfort in the summer heat.

If you find bathing your pet to be an arduous task grooming parlors are just the answer, and making sure that your animal is in peak groomed condition can also help in keeping your animal in good health.

Another Exciting Poll!

The question: how often do you brush your pet’s teeth?
The results:
66% say ‘Never!’
16% say once a week
16% say when they need it.

Okay, so seriously, brushing your pet’s teeth is ESSENTIAL! Dogs and cats also get cavities like we do, and most specialists recommend that you brush your dog’s teeth twice a week. With cats the same frequency is recommended, but definitely harder to achieve. Work it into a grooming program if you can!

Not brushing your dog’s teeth can cause bad breath, and this is usually indicative of periodontal disease (98% of bad breath in animals is caused by periodontal disease). If untreated it can lead to bacteria infection which can spread to other parts of your dog’s body through the bloodstream. Make sure that you check this out if your dog does have bad breath and you are not an active brusher.

Something else that you may not know is that you cannot use normal toothpaste on your pet. Why? It’s simple: it’s not meant to be eaten. Any school child knows that to make himself sick he just needs to eat a bit of toothpaste, and that’s what will happen to your dog. The reason? Your dog is definitely going to swallow whatever you put in his mouth! You can get special yummy toothpaste for your cat and dog at your local vet, grooming parlor or pet shop.

Cats, as we all know, are a difficult bunch and you are going to have to coerce your cat into thinking that brushing her teeth is fun. You have to ease her into the idea, rub her cheeks, use your finger instead of a brush, and always always stop before she gets grumpy. Dogs will love the attention, but cats will run away if they sense a tooth brushing coming their way! Turn it into a fun game or grooming and your cat might even look forward to the experience.

Be sure to vote in this week's poll!