Cat Dont Like Brushing

Hey Billisue...welcome to SUMMER. My medium haired cat is shedding up a storm. This is what I recommend....first of all....does your cat run from you all the time or ONLY when you are going to brush her?? The reason I ask this is because what I do for my cat is I have their "grooming room" which is just a fancy name for my bathroom. The bathroom is a special place because my cats know that if I clip their nails or brush them..they will get special treats afterwards. Now..I've done this with my cats since they were kittens so they don't protest too much now....however, if you have never tried this before..you may want to take your cat into the bathroom and simply give her some treats so that she associates the bathroom (or other small room where she cannot go far) with treats. Next time...have her in the bathroom, with the brushing tools near her...and give her treats.......you see where I'm going with this. You want to associate "brushing" with "I get something good". But this can only work if you give it time. The next time...stroke her a couple of times...and then pick up the brush (but don't brush her yet)...she how she reacts..does she cower?? If so, put the brush down and continue to stroke her and give her some treats. You will want to slowly introduce the brush to her..and make sure you stop the moment you notice her tensing up..that is her warning to you that she is unhappy. Again...that is only my suggestion...and other posters may have some suggestions that work better..but that has always worked for me.

Katie

Katie has given you some good advice here, I agree with her totally. You might also try to use a soft brush in the beginning, just a couple of strokes, and if she behaves give her a treat. Never give her a treat if she tries to grap the brush or runs away. It may also help if you hold her with one hand between her forelegs - like she is standing on her hindlegs, and brush her back and sides only, not her tummy - that comes last when she is used to it all.

Have you ever tried clicker training? It is a very good way to interact with your cat. Basicly it means that the cat knows she has done something right when she hears the click and she knows she will get a treat. There are lots of information on the internet, and there is a book called "Clicker training for cats". It is amazing what you can teach you cat to do (the cat actually thinks she is teaching you!).

Is she short or long-haired? If she's shorhaired, you might want to try something called a 'Zoom Groom' - it's a rubber brush that really gets the hair out, and all of my shorthairs loved it. You can find it at most pet stores.

Unfortunately it doesn't work well on longhairs, though.

I'd recommend the Zoom Groom, too. Our cat doesn't particularly like being brushed, but he loves to be combed with a fine-toothed "flea" comb, and doesn't mind the Zoom Groom. You can also get grooming gloves - they're not as thorough as a brush, but better than nothing.

My cats are medium hair cats, mixed persian and domestic. My baby girl has more fur than "hair" whereas my baby boy had very silky "hair". They never liked being brushed mainly because we used the recommended kitty brushes for their long hair. We found an old unused hairbrush the one day and just for the fun of it gave the Dexter-boy a quick brush with it, to our surprise he really enjoyed it a lot. And it was just a plastic soft brush, but he came in every night for his brushing.

Maybe a human brush could help, you never know...

The zoom groom is good for short or medium hair cats. They don't work good on my persians. I have one if you want it! I can suggest getting a soft bristle brush. You'd be amazed at how much hair these get out and they don't pull like slickers or combs. This is what I use on my cats for daily brusing. Just start out brushing for just a minute or less and try to build up. The cat needs to learn that you're not going to hurt it. One of my cats still doesn't like brushing. So I just have to swipe her with the brush for a few seconds a couple times a day!

i like the idea of a "grooming room" katie - thanks for the tip - my kitties are just over 3months and i'm going to start using that for them - what kind of treats are best for kittens?

I think I'm going to look around for a Zoom Groom brush too! Buffy is a shorthair who sheds horribly, and hates being brushed. I can't try the first suggestion of treats, since Buffy only eats cat food, and only if the food is in her dish. Willow is a longhair and likes being brushed (especially on her face), so theres no problems there

For short-haired cats who don't like brushes (zoom groom didn't work for one of our boys, so ended up giving it to someone for their British Short-hair cats). Sometimes wet, or damp hands can get a lot of loose hair off short-hair cats. We've "fluffed" a couple of our cats, running our hands up and down in both directions, catching the loose hair as it comes off. Not all cats like this technique, though!

dz4boyz..sorry..just saw your post....actually, I experimented with a few different brands until I found one that my cats really enjoy. I tried moist treats..but found that upset my cats stomache....I tried large treats but found my girl has a small mouth and cannot tolerate big pieces....I even tried dried shrimp which my cats simply ignored. In the end I settled on Purina Essentials...purple bag. For kittens....I'd try different kitten brand treats....gosh...it's been almost 6 years since I started them out....so I can't remember the kitten brand I used.

Katie

P.S. Since I sleep with my cats in my bedroom at night...I use a different brand of treats to entice them into my bedroom. Treats are wonderful..but you have to watch how much you feed your cats.

I agree with all the advice so far about socializing your cat to grooming... I've found with my cats that the best approach has been to start slow, let your cat inspect the brush or comb as often as they like, try to groom them when they are already comfortable on your lap or next to you, try to groom them in the room where they feel most comfortable and stop grooming when they've had enough.

5 out of 6 of my cats have medium to long fur and here's a picture of the tools I use for grooming my babies... I particularly like the combs as they guarantee that I'm getting through their thick undercoats but the cats particularly like blue glove pictured and I find this is a good tool for helping cats distribute the oil through their fur and for collecting fur they are shedding.



The glove on the left is the best thing I have ever bought for my cats. I call it the love glove... It's a great combination of brushing a cat and petting a cat. I find it gets TONS of fur off all of my cats when they are in shedding season! I spray it with a light spritz of water before I use it too just to keep the static shocks down to a minimum.

The comb furthest to the left I don't use all that often but does do a good job for cats with thick undercoats (like Audrey).

The comb in the middle is the one I saw over and over again at the Cat Show I attended a few years back. I can't recommend it enough! Not only does it do a great job at getting their undercoat, but also, it doesn't irritate the cats skin at all and my cats don't mind me using this on them one bit. It has a wider and narrower end so you can start with one side then move to the other... It's great! Makes me wish I hadn't bought some of the other grooming tools I have!

The comb to the far right does the best job of lifting and separating their undercoat, therefore when I use this comb I am positive their coats are knot free and ready to go. But my cat's generally would prefer me not to use it as the ends are pointy and I think it scratches their skin. I only use this when I haven't combed them in a couple of days and the middle comb isn't available... (ie it's in a different room of the house.

When your cat is sleeping try to pet him, touch all his body parts. Slowly touch his paws, ears, eyes, nose, belly and so on. When he start moving stop petting him, and when he go back to sleep start touching some part of his body again. This way he will let you brush his hair, trim his claws, clean his ears, etc. That's what I did to Scuffy, when he is sleeping I trim his nails without a problem, he doesn't even wake up, just be very careful though. Try brushing the hair when he is sleeping, always pet him. Like what the other people says here, give him a treat. Give them so much love before grooming your cat and after, that is important. Good luck

I completely agree with what other have said about the Zoom Groom. I just recently bought one. My one cat who didn't care for being bushed that much loves it, and it really, REALLY gets all the loose hair!

I looked at a rubber brush at PetSmart yesterday. One of my cats hates being brushed and I wondered if he wouldn't mind the soft "bristles". But as the brush was just over $10.00 I couldn't bring myself to buy it. The package says it creates a static charge that attracts the hair. Do you think that it is worth the money?

That sounds very much like a Zoom Groom, and if it is as effective, yes I think it is worth the money for many situations. I seem to have a different picture with my two cats than other posters, though. I use the Zoom Groom with my long hair cat, Purdy, to get a lot of the loose hair closer to the surface. It doesn't begin to get his heavy undercoat, though, so I do follow up with a regular comb. I don't bother with the Zoom Groom with my short-haired cat, Red Cat, as he just begs to be combed instead. I'm thinking that with his over-grooming behavior, perhaps his skin is very itchy, and the regular comb provides just the kind of scratching he likes and he doesn't have to do it himself!

Are you by chance talking about this item?

http://www.petsmart.com/global/produ...=1087192449350

I have one of these and it's great for getting cat fur off furniture and clothes, but not really that good for cats.

All this talk about the Zoom Groom has me intrigued... I may have to get me one of these one of these days! The one pictured on petsmarts website is cute!

You found the exact product I was looking at. Thanks for your input. I think I'll keep that $10.00 in my pocket!

Yeah, if you are only looking at it as a cat grooming tool, then I'd definitely save the $10.00... But if you are looking to get the cat fur off your sofa or clothes, it's the best thing I've found where I'm not throwing something out all the time!

For less than $10.00 you can get one of these online. I couldn't find them on Petsmart's website, but Petco has them.

http://www.petco.com/product_info.as...hedding+Blades

Did you happen to post a picture of your cat out here? I know I put up a picture of the grooming tools I use... but I should put up a picture of all the ones I have that I don't use. I think I have enough inventory to stock a pet store between the grooming tools I've bought and the ones I've inhereted from friends! I have a whole grooming station I keep next to me on the couch so they're always accessible when a cat is on my lap! It includes their combs, the glovie, nail clippers, eye goop cleaner... and ofcourse cat treats! I think by keeping them always in reach it allows me to keep grooming an informal process that can be started and stopped whenever. I think if I tried to make grooming a big ordeal my cats would have no part of it. The big issue with my scheme comes when I need to comb one of their belly fur. They don't like that too much!
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Thanks for your continued help. I do have a shedding blade that I use when I can. I can only brush the cat for a very, very short while before he starts growling at me. If I'm foolish enough to continue he will either bite or scratch me. I'd try the treats but the cat has a very sensitive stomach. He likes to think that he's big and tough, but he's really just a big baby. I haven't posted a picture because I haven't taken the time to figure out how to do it yet.

I have a short hair white female, who sheds A LOT. She has a love glove, I put fresh catnip on my floor, and while she was playing and rubbing on it, I petted her a few times, then I slipped on the loveglove, and pet her a couple strokes with it. AT first it scared her, but once I got a little fur out, she LOVES brushing. She also has a zoom groom, and loves that as well. She likes almost any kind of comb/brush. But she especially loves to be brushed while she is rolling in catnip ???? Just her though.