First time Summer Grooming

I'm a first time poster, and need your advice...

Would it be wise, or too dangerous, to have my 9 year old long
haired cat professionally shampooed, Summer-lion-cut, and nails
clipped?
Might it be too traumatic, since she's never even had a bath,
hates to have us clip her nails and has never been to groomer?

It's gonna continue to be a hot Summer, and though Pit2nya is an
inside cat, she lays all stretched out if it's at all warm. But
I'm worried about her having a heart attack or something, being
subjected to that new an environment.

Anyone's experiences that I should know about?

Sylvia M.

"Sylvia M" nsmol guess.com wrote:

I'm a first time poster, and need your advice...

Would it be wise, or too dangerous, to have my 9 year old long
haired cat professionally shampooed, Summer-lion-cut, and nails
clipped? Might it be too traumatic, since she's never even had a
bath,

Cats handle stress very well, but you never know. One of my
promising adoptees apparently had a heart attack out of the blue.
I wasn't home. My feral female cat probably would suffer a
significant risk of heart failure if she ever needed to go to the
vet.

hates to have us clip her nails

I learned a trick from a recent post that IMO is worth a try.
After you have her in position, before you start clipping, give
her a little time to adjust to the surroundings.

And... Use a flashlight, with a paper towel underneath, so you can
perfectly see what you're doing.

And, thanks for clipping and not declawing.

It's gonna continue to be a hot Summer, and though Pit2nya is an
inside cat, she lays all stretched out if it's at all warm. But
I'm worried about her having a heart attack or something, being
subjected to that new an environment.

For cool and clean bedding... Use Astroturf with paper towels
covering it. Use packaging tape to secure the paper towels to the
Astroturf. You might have to hot melt glue some plastic strips to
the underside edge of the Astroturf, so that the packaging tape
easily stays put. Both of my cats have no problem with it.
Regularly replacing the paper towels keeps your cat's clean (and
maybe use some Advantage II from time to time). Like most new and
unusual things, Astroturf takes some getting used to, but it's one
of the greatest cat accessories. Amazon sells large pieces for
about $43 shipped. Perfect for cutting to size. Also very useful
for the litter box area.

http://www.amazon.com/Clean-Machine-...2U/ref=sr_1_3?

Good luck and have fun.












Anyone's experiences that I should know about?

Sylvia M.

How to get the cat to use the Astroturf...

Not really sure.

Cats are good at finding the coolest location. In my case, my
feral cat has a place high up out of the way. So all I had to do
was put the paper towel covered Astroturf there. That was five
years ago. I don't remember exactly, but she accepted it quickly.
Keeps her nice and clean. Also easy to tell what's going on, since
anything that rubs off of her ends up on a bright white paper
towel background. My male sleeps with her up there regularly. It's
also used at their window that is regularly open so they can
look/smell/feel out through the screen. The male sleeps on it
there sometimes. When the windows closed, sometimes the female
warms herself there in the sun coming through the window. So it's
comfortable as well as cool.

"John Doe" wrote in message
...
How to get the cat to use the Astroturf...

Not really sure.

Cats are good at finding the coolest location. In my case, my
feral cat has a place high up out of the way. So all I had to
do
was put the paper towel covered Astroturf there. That was five
years ago. I don't remember exactly, but she accepted it
quickly.
Keeps her nice and clean. Also easy to tell what's going on,
since
anything that rubs off of her ends up on a bright white paper
towel background. My male sleeps with her up there regularly.
It's
also used at their window that is regularly open so they can
look/smell/feel out through the screen. The male sleeps on it
there sometimes. When the windows closed, sometimes the female
warms herself there in the sun coming through the window. So
it's
comfortable as well as cool.

So it seems that you're saying that the Astroturf approach would
take
the place of the 'Lion-cut"...Hmmm,,,worth a try!

"Sylvia M" nsmol guess.com wrote:

So it seems that you're saying that the Astroturf approach would
take the place of the 'Lion-cut"

It is cool. You can lie down on it and put a fan blowing down
towards you, and you can feel how much cooler it is underneath you
because the air flows through it. They don't lie on it without a
paper towel on top, though. And it still takes some getting used
to, like most new things.

If you need any help figuring out how to apply the paper towels,
let me know. It's a method.

Yeah, it should help with a long hair cat, because replacing the
paper towels regularly will help clean it. That and applying some
Advantage II every once in a while.

On Sat, 7 Jul 2012 12:54:14 -0700, "Sylvia M" wrote:

I'm a first time poster, and need your advice...

Would it be wise, or too dangerous, to have my 9 year old long
haired cat professionally shampooed, Summer-lion-cut, and nails
clipped?
Might it be too traumatic, since she's never even had a bath,
hates to have us clip her nails and has never been to groomer?

It's gonna continue to be a hot Summer, and though Pit2nya is an
inside cat, she lays all stretched out if it's at all warm. But
I'm worried about her having a heart attack or something, being
subjected to that new an environment.

Anyone's experiences that I should know about?

Sylvia M.



For the cost of a single professional grooming session, you can buy a
decent electric clipper, and do lion cats at home.

They won't look as nice as when a professional groomer does it, but it
will be far less traumatic for your cat. And will cost less too.

My personal opinion is that unless a cat gets into something nasty or
really dirty, they don't ever need to be shampooed. Cats REALLY hat
getting washed, and stress is bad for a cat, just as it is for people.

Cats spend about 1/3 of their waking hours grooming themselves, and they
do a good job of it, for the most part. Long hair cats can still get
mats, which they need your help with. So unless you have an older cat
that can't reach some places on their body, or an obese cat with the
same problem, they don't NEED to be shampooed.

Gandalf ingold1234(at)yahoo(dot)com wrote in
:


For the cost of a single professional grooming session, you can buy a
decent electric clipper, and do lion cats at home.

They won't look as nice as when a professional groomer does it, but it
will be far less traumatic for your cat. And will cost less too.

My personal opinion is that unless a cat gets into something nasty or
really dirty, they don't ever need to be shampooed. Cats REALLY hat
getting washed, and stress is bad for a cat, just as it is for people.

Cats spend about 1/3 of their waking hours grooming themselves, and they
do a good job of it, for the most part. Long hair cats can still get
mats, which they need your help with. So unless you have an older cat
that can't reach some places on their body, or an obese cat with the
same problem, they don't NEED to be shampooed.


I always wondered, what temperature should the bath or shower water be
at for a cat? Since their body temp is higher does that mean the water
should be warmer than for a human?

I actually do have an older cat who can't lick their hindquarters very
well so he gets mats there. I've thought about shampooing him to prevent
this because getting the mats out is a difficult process.


--- Posted via news://freenews.netfront.net/ - Complaints to ---

Gandalf wrote:
On Sat, 7 Jul 2012 12:54:14 -0700, "Sylvia M" wrote:

I'm a first time poster, and need your advice...

Would it be wise, or too dangerous, to have my 9 year old long
haired cat professionally shampooed, Summer-lion-cut, and nails
clipped?
Might it be too traumatic, since she's never even had a bath,
hates to have us clip her nails and has never been to groomer?

It's gonna continue to be a hot Summer, and though Pit2nya is an
inside cat, she lays all stretched out if it's at all warm. But
I'm worried about her having a heart attack or something, being
subjected to that new an environment.

Anyone's experiences that I should know about?

Sylvia M.



For the cost of a single professional grooming session, you can buy a
decent electric clipper, and do lion cats at home.

They won't look as nice as when a professional groomer does it, but it
will be far less traumatic for your cat. And will cost less too.

My personal opinion is that unless a cat gets into something nasty or
really dirty, they don't ever need to be shampooed. Cats REALLY hat
getting washed, and stress is bad for a cat, just as it is for people.

Cats spend about 1/3 of their waking hours grooming themselves, and
they do a good job of it, for the most part. Long hair cats can still
get mats, which they need your help with. So unless you have an older
cat that can't reach some places on their body, or an obese cat with
the same problem, they don't NEED to be shampooed.

Regular brushing usually does the trick without shampooing. An occasional
tough tangle can be clipped out..... We got one that was covered with
tangles when we got her (from a farmer) She had a real nasty personality,
too. After we clipped out all the tangles, she was one happy cat. And, she
never got asnother tangle, either. I don't know whether it was the change in
her location, or diet, but she is now a happy, lovable, and tangle free cat.

FragSinatra wrote:
Gandalf ingold1234(at)yahoo(dot)com wrote in
:


For the cost of a single professional grooming session, you can buy a
decent electric clipper, and do lion cats at home.

They won't look as nice as when a professional groomer does it, but
it will be far less traumatic for your cat. And will cost less too.

My personal opinion is that unless a cat gets into something nasty or
really dirty, they don't ever need to be shampooed. Cats REALLY hat
getting washed, and stress is bad for a cat, just as it is for
people.

Cats spend about 1/3 of their waking hours grooming themselves, and
they do a good job of it, for the most part. Long hair cats can
still get mats, which they need your help with. So unless you have
an older cat that can't reach some places on their body, or an obese
cat with the same problem, they don't NEED to be shampooed.


I always wondered, what temperature should the bath or shower water be
at for a cat? Since their body temp is higher does that mean the water
should be warmer than for a human?

I actually do have an older cat who can't lick their hindquarters very
well so he gets mats there. I've thought about shampooing him to
prevent
this because getting the mats out is a difficult process.

The difference in body temperature between cats and humans is less than two
degrees F, so just using luke warm water is fine, as it is for humans. Some
cats like the water, but most prefer regular brushing, and will take care of
themselves pretty well when it comes to cleaning.