Bradley Hills Animal Hospital » Health Info for Your Cat
Routine Care for Your Cat
Many cats enjoy being brushed, especially if you develop this as a grooming routine from the time your pet is a kitten. Assisting your cat to remove excess fur is essential in maintaining a healthy coat in long-haired breeds and helps to decrease the incidence of hairballs regardless of hair length.
Hairball preventative
Another equally important grooming aid, which you can give one to two times per week, is a hairball preventative, such as Laxatone. This will help to decrease hairball formation that occurs from your cat’s own grooming.
Nail trimming:
Cats' claws can become quite sharp if they are not cut on a regular basis. They can be trimmed with your regular fingernail clippers or with nail trimmers made for dogs and cats. If you take too much off the nail, you will get into the quick; bleeding and pain will occur. If this happens, neither you nor your cat will want to do this again. Therefore, a few points are helpful:
- If your cat has clear or white nails, you can see the pink of the quick through the nail. Avoid the pink area, and you should be out of the quick.
- If your cat has black nails, you will not be able to see the quick so only cut 1/32" (1 mm) of the nail at a time until the cat begins to get sensitive.
- If your cat has some clear and some black nails, use the average clear nail as a guide for cutting the black ones.
- When cutting nails, use sharp trimmers. Dull trimmers tend to crush the nail and cause pain even if you are not in the quick.
- You should always have styptic powder available. Please ask us if you have any questions.
Dental Care
Getting your cat accustomed to having its teeth brushed will help to delay the progression of dental disease as it ages. Your nurse can instruct you on proper brushing technique.
Ear Cleaning
Routine ear cleaning is not essential for most cats. Because of the anatomy of their ear, there is sufficient airflow to keep the ear dry and prevent infections. This does not mean that cats do not get ear infections. If you notice that your cat is scratching at his/her ears, shaking his/her head, or has black discharge from the ears, call us – he or she may have an ear infection. If your cat has chronic ear infections, then talk to our doctors to see if regular cleaning could help prevent problems.