Grooming A Persian Cats Paws.

Hi, 

I found an abandoned Doll Faced Persian cat a while ago and I'm looking for some advice on how to groom him.

He's very tame and affectionate and loves being brushed, but he won't let me touch his paws. At first I was worried that they were painful or that he might have been de-clawed, but his claws are still there and he has no trouble digging the cat litter or walking. He goes out into our cat enclosure every day so often comes home with wet or muddy feet. What's the best way to clean them? Should I wash them or just leave him to clean them himself?

Thanks for any advice.

I think the only way to get him used to it is by doing it. You can catch him while he's sleeping if you want to wipe them off without a fuss, and build up his tolerance slowly that way. (sleeping cat, wipe a paw, cat wakes up, give a treat, attempt to wipe a second paw, if successful give another treat). That's how I got my cat used to getting his nails clipped, and my dogs for their nails too. I also know people who ambush their cat at the door with a towel and just crocodile wrestle them until all the feet are wiped down- that keeps the mud off your floor asap but seems a lot more stressful for everyone involved haha.

Hopefully the sleeping trick helps somewhat.

Good luck! 

Thanks @Sea TurtleSwims,

Your cat looks pretty fluffy, do you use a brush or comb on his paws? I'm not that bothered about him tracking mud into the house, the other cats do it and I don't have any carpets to worry about. I was just concerned because he is a lovely silver colour but his paws are always brown. He doesn't seem to groom himself as much as my other cats do. He waits for me to do it for him.

Do you just wipe your cat's paws to keep them clean?

Hi i have a young rescue persian. He didnt like his feet touched at first either. Every day when he sat by me id give him lots of fuss and id use this time as a sneaky health check and would check his paws one at a time usually with a game, treat or cuddle between paws. Was very slow progress at times but doing it every day he learnt to tollerate it and is usually happy to let me cut his nails every 6 weeks now as long as he gets attention

Hi crazypetlady,

What kind of brush do you use on his paws? I have one that's good for the rest of his coat but it seems a bit too big for his paws.

Does your cat get matted fur under his "arm-pits"? I have trouble brushing him there and I've noticed a few little mats that I've had to cut out.

The cat in your avatar is really cute, is that him?

Hi i wrote a reply earlier but it seemed to delete itself before i could post it, so fingers crossed this one works.
I acctually use a small animal/ rabbit brush they sell brushes almost the same for rabbits but small making it handy, only thought of this idea when my sister was showing me the brushes she had for her guinea pig.
Grooming whipes are handy to if you can catch the dirt before it dries, animalology ones seem quiet good as they have a rough size and a smooth side for sensitive areas.
Ah yes arm pits can be a little trickly, i do try brush the fine fur here every day but i also just run my fingers through the har when handling him and can usually find the start of a tangle before it becomes matted and can part it with my fingers.
I used to have a shetland sheep dog as a child, he was about the size of a adult persian with just as much fluff so was used to grooming him but was abit scared getting a persian because there seemed to be alot of negative information out there but glad i rescued him hes very sweet and very cheeky/ naughty.
The avatar picture is of my ragdoll boy isis, he is very fluffy to, his hair is easier to maintain then olivers which is just as well as he is a wriggle bum. I will put a picture up of oliver :-)

Oh wow, they sell grooming kits for guinea pigs?! That sounds very cute. I'll have to look out for those. I've started using an old toothbrush on his paws, he still pulls his paws away after a few strokes, but I figure a little grooming every day should get the job done.

Yes, please post a picture of your Persian. Here's one of mine.


We found him abandoned at the side of the road. He was very skinny, but he's much better now.

Gorgeous kitty, and gorgeous bowls!

Have you tried a wet (wetter than damp, but not dripping) washcloth? The grooming wipes are sometimes too dry to do the job. A warm wet washcloth has worked pretty well for me.

The underarms are a challenge for me too. I have decided to brush them every day, even if he throws a fit. It is easier than cutting out mats later, considering how thin the skin is under his arms.

Hi @silverpersian  , your cat is just too sweet for words!  Thanks for the wash cloth suggestion, I'll give that a go when he comes in. He's chasing two of my other long haired cats through the fallen leaves at the moment. It's actually a lot easier to brush leaves out of their fur than it is to deal with muddy paws, I've decided I like this season. I'm going with as much grooming as he'll stand every day to try and prevent his fur getting matted. He doesn't seem to mind it, but he'd much rather be out running around with the others.

Thank you for the compliment about the bowls. I made a set of blue salad bowls for a friend and they were two of the glaze tests I made so she could decide on a colour. There are a lot of my pottery experiments around being used as food and water dishes.   

Sorry for the hiatus @Norachan  I haven't been on in a while! My cat does have hairy feet underneath his paw pads, but he doesn't go out side and it doesn't seem to mat. Some people trim up those little hobbit feet, but I think it's cute! :3 I just let it be haha. He has kind of silky coat so nothing mattes. I can see where a rough coated cat may matte and need to be trimmed though. It just depends

Beautiful Persians you both have.

I have a Persian cross (so doesn't technical qualify as a Persian). We found her in the tire well of our car at 3.5 months of age.

She doesn't mind her paws being played with for a short time if she is sleepy and has her treats ready for afterwards. We just wipe her paws if she needs them, no mats on her paws though she does get them under her arms (armpits area) occasionally. We keep her brushed and combed as much as possible and her nails trimmed, even if it is one paw at a time.

Here's her picture. Name is Lil' Jag - a black smoke. She turned 10 years in August.

Thanks for your replies @SeaTurtleSwims  and @greycat2

His paws are actually much cleaner these days. It's very cold and dry here at this time of year and the ground is frozen, so even though he goes out every day he's not getting muddy any more. I have to admit I'm fighting a losing battle with grooming him though. His fur is so fine and fluffy. I had a collar on him for a while but it made the fur around his neck matt up so I took it off again  I give him a brush all over every day, but I think it hurts when I brush over the matted parts as he tries to get away. I've trimmed a few matts out and try to get the rest out with my fingers, but I think the patch between his front legs might have to be shaved at some point. As soon as he goes out and chases around with the other cats all my hard work is undone.

He loves going outside though, it's really nice to see him running and playing with the others. Maybe I'll just take him for a lion cut in the summer.

You could also get a sanitary cut - they could just shave his underside (I had that done on 2 of my Angels - Kuce and Dancing Bear) and his rear. Or you could just do a Lion's cut (Lil' Jag has had that done as well). He may not like you at first for doing it but if the fur mats are really a bother to him, he'll feel better after they are removed. The hard part will be keeping it up afterwards (or he may actually like the brushing/combing better) once removed.

Lil' Jag after shave.


Her fur grew back fine in about 3-4 months just in time for fall. You can see her smoke color better in the picture above.

I love his coloring.

Lil' Jag looks so sweet after her hair cut.

What kind of brush do you use on your long haired cats?

I use a both a metal steel comb with two sets of teeth width and a slicker brush (both were recommender by a professional groomer for long haired cats.) You can find them in both the cat and dog sections. I also like to follow up with a flea comb just in case......

The short hairs just get the steel and flea combs. Maybe I'm just being too fussy.