How to comb a cat correctly and with what? What to do if a cat vomits hair?

Do you need to comb your cat? How to do this correctly and how often? What brushes for cats can you buy on Aliexpress?

A “side effect” of keeping a cat indoors is the fur it leaves everywhere when it sheds. Scraps on the floor, furniture and clothing are unaesthetic, unhygienic, and harmful to the health of the owners. There is a solution to the problem, and it does not lie in regular cleaning or, especially, in placing a pet. The cat needs to be brushed so that it “sheds” faster and does not fray its fur.

Do I need to comb my cat?

Shedding is a natural process that usually occurs annually in cats. The animal's coat should be completely renewed in spring and autumn. Depending on the length of the coat, hairs fall out:

• tufts in long-haired cat breeds
• individual hairs evenly in short-haired cat breeds

Brushing is a mandatory grooming procedure for a cat that sheds.
In summer and winter, the cat’s fur also sheds, but not in such large “portions.” There are also pathological conditions that cause the animal to shed, for example:

• avitaminosis
• stress
• skin allergies
• dermatological diseases
• indoor air is too dry
• Frequent bathing with the wrong shampoo

IMPORTANT: Not all fallen fur remains in the apartment and irritates the owners. A significant part of it settles in the cat’s stomach after it decides to clean itself up and lick itself. And healthy cats lick themselves all the free time they have left from sleeping, eating and playing. Fur in the stomach causes the animal to experience discomfort and can cause serious health problems.

The frequency of brushing and the type of brush depend on the breed of the cat and the length of its fur.
Regular brushing will help the cat shed its hair. The advantages of the procedure are that:

1. The cat will not eat the fur. You won’t have to remove it from his stomach later.
2. You won't need to clean the house as often.
3. Combing is also a massage. Due to the acceleration of blood circulation in the vessels under the skin and, accordingly, the acceleration of metabolism, the cat's new coat will grow healthy and beautiful.
4. Combing is a kind of preventive examination, during which you can identify fleas, scratching, and other skin pathologies in a cat.
5. The procedure is pleasant for the animal itself.

But if you do the combing incorrectly, you can harm your cat. To prevent this from happening, you should consult a veterinarian about what exactly, how often and how to comb a cat of a particular breed.

Why are tangles dangerous?

if you ignore the formation of tangles, this can affect the health of your pet

Mats spoil the appearance of your pet. They make the cat look untidy. Professional breeders can ruin their reputation if a purebred cat looks unkempt. And even if the pet is a simple domestic cat, but with tangles, it will be unpleasant to stroke it. However, in addition to not being aesthetically pleasing, pets with mats are at risk of diseases:

• germs and parasites;
• dermatological problems;
• the cat may damage its skin.

Mats can form from wool that is wet (with saliva), and in the form of a lump, the wool will not be able to dry at all. This saliva can harbor parasites and germs. Their activity on the animal's skin can lead to dermatological problems. And the same problems can arise without exposure to parasites. The skin under the mat will become hot and overheat. Experiencing severe itching and discomfort, the cat will try to scratch its skin and remove mats. This way, the cat can damage its skin with its claws and teeth, and the resulting scratches can become infected.

How to comb out fur and undercoat from a cat during shedding?

Cat fur and human hair differ in their anatomy and structure. An ordinary hair comb will not work for a cat; it will not be able to remove dead hair and will only create static electricity that is harmful to the animal. You should purchase a special cat brush or massage mitt from a pet store. Its configuration depends entirely on the breed of the pet and the length of its fur.

Brushes and slickers for cats.

IMPORTANT: Regardless of the type of brush, there is an important point to consider. In no case should the teeth be completely metal, so as not to torment the animal with electric shocks, or sharp, so as not to scratch its skin.

You can buy brushes, combs and slicker brushes for cats on the extensive online site Aliexpress, in the section “For Home and Garden / Products for Pets / Cat Care”.

Furminator from Aliexpress.

You can brush your cat while shedding:

1. Furminator. This professional brush for cats and dogs is a rectangle with teeth mounted on a rubberized handle that is easy to hold. The Furminator helps the animal shed much faster, as it effectively combs out the hair and undercoat that have become dead. The device also produces a massage effect, accelerates the cat’s blood, and evenly distributes its protective fat layer. Your pet's new coat grows healthy and beautiful. Suitable for cats with any length of pile and density of undercoat. Helps get rid of tangles.
2. Brush - mitten. This is a rubber or silicone mitten with pimples or teeth, which, when placed on the hand, the owner will be able to comb or massage the cat, even if he is not enthusiastic about the mandatory procedure.
3. Pukhoderka. This flat comb can have teeth of different lengths and thicknesses, sometimes curved. The longer the cat's fur, the longer and more frequent the teeth of the slicker should be. It is important to remember that you cannot “tear” matted fur and tangles with a slicker, otherwise the animal will suffer.
4. Scallop. A cat's comb typically consists of densely spaced teeth of varying lengths. It is convenient for regular use during shedding and is also suitable for combing out fleas.
5. Double sided brush. On one side it has teeth for combing, on the other - elastic artificial or natural bristles for massage.

Brush-mitten from Aliexpress.

Silicone brush for combing from Aliexpress.

Cat slicker from Aliexpress.

Comb for combing cats from Aliexpress.

Selecting a brush: rules

When choosing a brush for combing, it is important to take into account the characteristics of the coat, namely:

• Her condition
• Density and length
• Purpose of the procedure

This natural bristle brush is suitable for all breeds. The mitten is often used for massage and untangling tangles. The comb is suitable for daily combing of short-haired breeds, as well as getting rid of fleas. A slicker is recommended for getting rid of dead particles.

There is a large selection of combs; you need to buy the one that suits your pet’s coat type.

How to comb a short-haired cat?

Grooming a cat with short hair is quite simple. They do this twice a week. Needed:

• bowl of warm water
• wide-toothed comb or furminator
• massage mitten or double-sided brush

Brushing a short-haired cat with a mitten brush.

1. Before brushing, it is better to run a hand dipped in water through the cat’s fur. Then the fibers will not fly away.
2. Use a comb or fuminator to comb the cat's fur. Sometimes you can hear that combing is more effective against hair growth, but in this case there is a risk of damaging the undercoat.
3. The procedure is repeated with a massage brush, which will also collect the remains of combed hair from the animal’s fur coat.

Mitten: the easiest to use

If your pet doesn't like combs and slickers, try using another tool popular among cat owners - a rubber mitten.

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Short or long teeth, located at different frequencies on the surface of the mitten, perfectly massage the skin of the animal. Thanks to this, blood circulation improves, the hair follicles are strengthened, and the coat becomes healthy and shiny. Cats love this massage very much. It can be carried out both on dry wool and during water procedures.

How to comb a British cat?

A British cat is brushed not only during shedding, but also 1-2 times a week throughout the winter. The fact is that during this period she develops a dense undercoat, sometimes tangled into tangles.

For the procedure you need a brush - a slicker with thin and densely set metal teeth. There should be metal tips on the tips of the teeth so that they do not scratch the animal’s skin.

IMPORTANT: A regular powder brush is not suitable for the British. If the undercoat is damaged, the fur of a purebred cat will not seem plush.

Contraindications

Even such an important and necessary procedure for a cat’s health may have contraindications.

You cannot use a furminator to comb animals if their fur does not have undercoat or has a special appearance, these include:

• Cornish Rex;
• Devon Rex;
• Turkish Angora;
• Burmese and Singapore cats;
• orientals.

In addition, it is prohibited to use combs and brushes with metal teeth, which can further damage the animal’s skin, which has scratches, scratches and abrasions, irritations and ulcers.

If there are tangles, they should be disassembled carefully. In particularly advanced cases, it is better to contact a groomer who will do it professionally.
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A cat often vomits hair: what to do?

As already mentioned, during shedding the cat “eats” a certain amount of fur. In his stomach, it falls into lumps - bezoars. If there is little hair, the bezoars are small, they successfully pass through the intestines and are excreted in the feces.

But with heavy shedding, hairballs can grow to large sizes, cause discomfort to the animal, and cause partial or complete intestinal obstruction.

Hairballs in a cat's stomach worsen his health.

IMPORTANT: If a cat eats fur during shedding, he can remove it from the stomach in another way - through vomiting.

A single vomiting of hair is considered physiological and does not pose a danger to the animal. The cat just needs to regurgitate the fur from its stomach to feel better.

If an animal vomits several times a day or for several days in a row, this is a pathology that requires contacting a veterinarian. Only a doctor can determine the cause of the condition.

Perhaps the cat, due to stress, fleas, or too dry air in the room, sheds too much and, accordingly, swallows too much hair. But sometimes frequent vomiting indicates the presence of diseases of the animal’s gastrointestinal tract.

The cat vomits to cleanse its stomach of hairballs.

Frequent hair vomiting can be prevented by:

1. Groom and bathe your cat while shedding.
2. Give the cat special food. Cat food manufacturers produce lines of products for long-haired cats, which, among other things, help cleanse the stomach of bezoars.
3. Give the cat grass. Street or walking cats find grass on their own, along with which they regurgitate fur. Owners of pet cats can plant grass for them from seeds or buy it already sprouted at a pet store.
4. Give the cat some paste. A special paste is given to the pet during the molting period on its own or along with food. It is sold in a tube. As a rule, a single dose is a 3-5 cm strip of paste. The product has a meat or cheese flavor, cats eat it with pleasure.

IMPORTANT: If after using the products the cat is still vomiting hair or white foam, eating poorly, behaving lethargically, and rarely goes to the litter box, he should be shown to a veterinarian.

DIY haircut

Animals with thick fur need to be trimmed periodically, as hair clumps can sometimes form, causing some discomfort. It is not always possible to comb such areas, and taking the animal to the hairdresser will be expensive, so many people prefer to carry out the process themselves. Grooming cats at home should be carried out according to certain rules:

1. First, you will need to shorten your pet’s claws a little, using a nail clipper.
2. For the first time, it is better to invite a specialist who knows how to properly hold an animal to carry out the procedure, and it will be easier to deal with a four-legged friend. The cat lies on its side and holds on to its paws.
3. Next, you should arm yourself with a clipper and carefully cut the wool. After the sides are finished, move on to the back and front. It is very important to act extremely carefully, since there are nipples on the stomach.
4. In order not to injure your pet, it is better to cut off the lumps using scissors, since doing this with a clipper will be problematic, and the cat will become nervous.
5. To avoid cutting the animal, it is necessary to stretch the creature's skin.
6. At the end of the procedure, you will need to wash the cat using clean water, after which it is dried with a hairdryer.

If the animal is always at home, then haircut can be done at any time. However, this does not apply to pets that are occasionally outdoors. Such cats need to be clipped only before the summer season.