Long haired kitten; comb or brush for grooming?

I just posted some pictures of my new kitten; http://www.thecatsite.com/forums/sho...02#post1974302 and it sounds like she may be a long haired one? I though she was medium haired, but I don't have the experience to tell.

Anyway, I purchased a cat brush, with white, medium-soft bristles. Is this good, or should I use a comb? Maybe a brush for now and a comb later? What is the purpose or the comb; simply to get out knots, or will it also remove loose hair? I do have one of those with hard, sharp metal "teeth" on it that seems to get a lot of hair out of my other cat (if she will at all let me, that is; I have to be so careful, otherwise she'll get me). But isn't it painful to them if you accidentally get too close to their faces or little bones that stick out? They seem so sharp...

So what is the recommendation on what to groom a long haired cat with? Anything else I should know? She doesn't seem to tangle up too easily, and she's definitely not like a Persian in any way. I've never had a long haired cat before, only short, or like my 2 yro who is medium.

Comb... I spent 18 yrs without that knowledge ... but our lovely grooming advisor set me strait... and it made grooming Kandie in her last days SO EASY....

I really love the Furminator that you can get at pet stores or even online. The med is a good size to get. Its the concept of a comb and really gets out a lot of hair. I highly recommend it.

http://www.furminator.com/

You need both actually.

A comb to ensure you get to the undercoat and a brush to get all the dead fur out! But your kitty looks DMH so your wide medium soft bristles will work for now. Do start brushing her daily from now so that she gets used to it and you wont have any problems in the future!

Since she doesn't have a full coat yet, you can use a fine toothed comb (flea comb) to do major grooming and get her used to being groomed at a young age. Later if she develops a thicker/longer coat you can use a medium comb and the fine toothed one for shorter hair.

Brushes really do not do very much on any cat (long or short hair). I've always used a comb on my cats - gets a lot more fur. I have all shorthair cats and only use a flea comb on them.

Originally Posted by Pami

I really love the Furminator that you can get at pet stores or even online. The med is a good size to get. Its the concept of a comb and really gets out a lot of hair. I highly recommend it.

http://www.furminator.com/

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WOW!!! That's amazing! Thank you for that link!

So what does DMH mean? Domestic medium hair???
Thank's!

OK, so I gave her a good brushing today; couldn't find the comb. It looks like she may have dandruff? All of her coat looks fine, but underneat her where she's been shaved (due to spaying), there's one area close to her hind leg that I get a lot of dandruff from when brushing her. The more I brush, the worse it gets.

What should I do about it? I have never bathed her (just got her on Thursday) and though she was on Science Diet previously, she is now on Nutro Natural kitten kibble. Will it just go away again? Is it due to previous bad nutrition? And also, is it likely that all of her is full of it, just I haven't noticed yet?

I'd try giving her a bath in some quality human shampoo and conditioner - try Pantane or Nexxus. And use a conditioner after the bath. Rinse very well. There are numerous threads on how to bath a cat/kitten on the site.

Please check with your vet before using any over the counter product on her. Not all cat shampoos are equal and a few contain ingredients that may actually be harmful to cats.

I'd get her used to the comb at least a little bit. Your soft brush will be good to fluff her up but the comb will get the most of the dead hair out. She looks like she could be long haired but it's kind of hard to tell when they're that age. She's beautiful! I used a flea comb on my cats face, around the ears and top of the head and sometimes the legs. And a medium to small tooth comb on the rest of the body.

Use a good kitten/cat conditioning shampoo if you bathe her. I don't recommend human shampoos unless directed by a veternarian. Especially on a kitten. Some folks have no problems using them on their grown cats but it's risky and not worth the chance. Cats and especially kittens, absorb things through the skin easily. Stay away from anything that says it has tea tree oil in it. After bathing, rinse with a prepared solution of about 2 gallons of warm water with 2-3 tablespoons of white vinegar mixed in it. This helps get all the shampoo out and aids in restoring ph balance.

DMH is domestic medium hair. It's a recently created term that has been used by some shelters and is spreading to other groups. In reality, there are short haired and long haired cats. It's just that some long haired cats have longer hair then others!

I've used human shampoo on my show cats for years - from kitten to adult and never had problems The rexes did very well with Nexxus products (recommended by another rex breeder who is a hairdresser).

I use a special pet shampoo for Charlie now only cause that's what his breeder recommended I use. She has top show cats.

Originally Posted by GoldenKitty45

I've used human shampoo on my show cats for years - from kitten to adult and never had problems

The rexes did very well with Nexxus products (recommended by another rex breeder who is a hairdresser).

I use a special pet shampoo for Charlie now only cause that's what his breeder recommended I use. She has top show cats.

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I understand you have used human shampoos with no problems and that's great. But someday, someone may have a kitty that is not currently sick but prone to any number of diseases, such as kidney disease, and there could be an ingredient that would be absorbed and then make things worse for the cat. And some people who are new or have a different mind set may think if one human shampoo is ok for cats then they all must be. We've seen that mind set over and over. That's part of the reason I feel it important to carefully recommend cat and kitten shampoos that are made specifically for their bodies and organs to tolerate. It's the responsible thing to do.

I suppose so - you are probably right. But IMO its hard to find a pet shampoo that works the way you would like....but I'm talking from a show standpoint - not the regular/occasional bath.

GK,

Show grooming products that work for me....and remember, I do both Long hairs and Short hairs!

1. Jerob
2. Bio Groom
3. Chris Christensen
4. All systems #1

All the products above are breeder/exhibitor approved

Originally Posted by GoldenKitty45

I suppose so - you are probably right. But IMO its hard to find a pet shampoo that works the way you would like....but I'm talking from a show standpoint - not the regular/occasional bath.

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I understand. And I think it's great that it works for you and you don't have issues with it. I just tend to be a bit on the conservative side when recommending something for the average domestic pet owner.