Calling all Longhair Cat groomers/owners!

I have a few Q's I am hoping you guys can answer

I have 5 kittens who were born October 29th, 07. 4 of them turned out to be longhairs(mommys a shorthair) and one is a shorthair, but with a SUPER velvety coat. They are all basically white..as for the longhairs, picture Birman X Ragdoll cats(marking wise) and for the shorthair, picture exactly the markings, build and 'look' of the Siamese.

I have given them all baths since they were a few weeks old, but now as they grow older I am realizing that the longhairs coats need to be groomed and bathed pretty consistantly, or their coats start matting! 3 of them had little round matted hair on the backs of their legs. I have never had that problem with the longhairs I've owned before, so I didn't expect it to happen. So here are my questions!

What shampoo gives you the best results? Shine, Fluff, Smell,etc. wise.(please remember these kittens are not quite 4 months old yet, so any shampoo that's not to be used on kittens, please let me know!)

Is there a type of shampoo that helps prevent matting? Like a detangler?

How often do you groom your longhair?

What types of brushes do you use to groom them with?

Is there any coat-spray I can buy that reduces static in the coat? I've had a bad problem with shocking them lol after I pet them for a bit, because of their long hair.

So far I haven't had a problem with them having hairballs from licking themselves, even though I haven't had the problem yet, should I put them on a hairball-preventive dry food or supplement?

Is there something I can spray on their coats that repels dust/dirt to be so attracted to their pretty coats?

Thanks for reading!!!!

Originally Posted by purplexxpassion

How often do you groom your longhair?
What types of brushes do you use to groom them with?

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Every day without exception. (Because almost every single person here tells me to.)

I do not use a brush, I use a comb. (Because almost every single person here tells me to.)

LOL!!! go TCS, then!

Well sounds like I have started out on the right foot, then! I gave 2 of them baths tonight and after the bath, brushed them with a comb

I've read that they should be washed once a week and brushed with a comb... I'm still looking for a comb (planning on getting a Persian next week) to buy and shampoo but that's what I'm aiming for...

Could be wrong though... These guys are the experts

I used to have 3 longhairs and would groom every day or other day with a wide tooth comb followed by a fine tooth comb.

You need to make sure they are matt free before bathing as that will make it worse. You can clip the back end furr, I did that to help prevent clingons from the litterbox.

Brush or comb? Both!

For combs I use this:
http://www.revivalanimal.com/store/p...lon-Combs.aspx

For brushes:
http://www.chrissystems.com/brushes.htm

How often? Daily

Bathing? Minimum once a month unless showing. Better twice a month.

Shampoos and conditioners? Minimum this line:

http://mjmcompany.com/1allsystems-grooming.htm

Stan gets daily brushing/combing (mostly we use a metal comb with a semi-fine tooth -not a flea comb, a little bigger) or the furminator. We both enjoy this.

Every two weeks or so his "butt cut" gets attention - a trim to keep his bloomers short (this makes us both happier)

Monthly or so he gets a bath.

He gets very few mats (maybe one every few months --usually inside the fold of his back leg) and his fur is bunny-soft.

I have one longhaired cat and two that are medium haired. I comb them daily and use a slicker brush when I'm done with the comb. They don't really NEED the daily combing yet, since they're still kittens and don't really get matted yet, but I want them to be used to it for when they are adults.

As for bathing, I only bathe when they really need it.

wow thanks for all the advice everyone!

You need to make sure they are matt free before bathing as that will make it worse. You can clip the back end furr, I did that to help prevent clingons from the litterbox.

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I combed out the mats(well there were only about 1 or 2 on their hind legs..not many) before their baths. I will have to clip up their bottoms then, cause they do get clingons pretty often!

Start them young in grooming routine. Get a fine toothed and medium toothed comb and use that. Forget the brushes (unless they have long teeth) - they are usless on a longhair.

They need to be combed every day. If you are bathing often you need to add a conditioner with the bath or it will dry out the coat too much. There are persian/longhair breeders in here that can recommend specific shampoos/conditioners for you to use.

Oh and be sure that the grooming also includes trimming nails at least once a week

Oh and be sure that the grooming also includes trimming nails at least once a week

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is there a reason for that? I don't mind nail trimming, but is it important for some reason that I clearly am oblivous to? lol

For a few reasons:

1. It gets them used to being clipped. Many owners do not clip often enough so when they try, the cats give them a fit and they are very uncooperative. Checking and trimming nails (as needed) weekly, will condition them to be a lot more cooperative in the long run.

2. Kitten nails grow fast and they can scratch each other in places (like eyes) that require a vet trip! I had that happen to 2 month old Russian Blue kittens. The 2 brothers were wrestling as normal. Since kittens don't know how to retract claws till older they tend to swat at each other a lot. One of the kittens started screaming - I run in to find blood all over the place and rushed the kitten to the vet. The vet cleaned out the eye and had to put stitches in it to heal. He told me if the kitten had gotten a millimeter closer with the scratch, he would have lost sight in that eye.

So I started trimming all kittens nails at 3-4 weeks of age after that.

hmm, well they are fine about getting their nails trimmed, I did that when they were younger and had SUPER sharp nails that poked momma in the belly when they nursed, but I only did it a few times. I don't trim their nails but mess with their feet like I would if I was clipping them and they don't care.
I'm not big on clipping nails because I heard(on here, actually) that once you start doing it you have to KEEP doing it because of some change in the nail or something(forget exactly what they said). I have soo much else to do with all the animals I have and everything else then to have to worry about clipping ALL the cats' nails weekly. It seems like a personal preference, to me. I fully understand the scratching eachother in the eyes thing, though. That makes sense.