Daily coat care of longhair cats
The text is brought with the kind permission of Creme Caramel's Persians. It is mostly addressed to longhair-breeders, of course, but other cat owners can probably find something of interest in it, too.
Daily coat care The daily care of a Persian coat is not as complicated as many will claim. Not under normal circumstances anyway. One does not necessarily have to brush the cat every day around the week. On the other hand one should, whilst handling the cat anyway, feel through the fur every day to avoid entangled knots developing. One should be specially aware of the fur behind the ears, between the front legs, on the belly and the back legs/thighs, where it is softer/woollier. |
The secret behind a
healthy coat is as mentioned not brushing every day, but bathing.
When the coat becomes difficult to handle, it is often because the
coat has become greasy, and because dust and other things collect
in the coat and cause the hairs to stick together with knots as the
result. Bathing your cat is not as difficult as it may sound. Many breeders start bathing their kittens at a very young age to accustom them to it, and in that way ensure that the new owners should have no problems with it. |
 Bathing As mentioned above, you should bathe your cat about once every six weeks. I usually bathe small kittens in the kitchen sink and rinse them under the tap. I let the adults stand in the shower cabinet or in the bathtub (it can be a good idea to place a rubber mat in the bathtub, so the cat feels it is standing on a stable surface and feels safer). When I bathe my cats, I usually follow this procedure:1. Start by rinsing the coat thoroughly. Cats often prefer the water a little warmer than we humans, almost like for a baby. 2. The shampooing: There’s a jungle of shampoos on the market. There are shampoos for all sorts of situations. There are shampoos for different colors, treatments, volume, protein - you name it, there’s a shampoo for it. I have tried most of them on the market and not many products have taken my fancy or given me the result I wanted. Generally, it is recommended to let the shampoo sit in one to two minute for a good result. This goes for most products. |
Three shampoos I can highly recommend for everyday use and for shows are the following: #1 All Systems Super-Cleaning & Conditioning Shampoo. A fantastic shampoo that suits most colors and gives a sparkling, fresh result. It is shampooed into the coat and must sit for about one to two minutes. Repeat for a better result. There is a conditioner in the same series. Remember that this shampoo is concentrated, so large amounts are not needed. The bottle states that the shampoo should be diluted, don’t do that! Rather use less shampoo. If you dilute the shampoo (goes for shampoo in general) it just becomes a slush, which is difficult to work into the coat. Miracle Coat Premium Pet Shampoo. A shampoo with the beneficiary tea-tree oil, which in my opinion works best on blacks, reds and tortie cats, by giving them a sparkling, shining, and smooth result. There is a conditioner spray in the same series, which works on all coats and also can be highly recommended. It is shampooed in and should sit for about one to two minutes. Repeat for a better result. KW Mink oil shampoo. A shampoo that works well on diluted coat colors (blue/cream). My cream cats have never had finer coats as with this shampoo (maybe almost with #1 All Systems shampoo, so...). |
Rinsing
The absolutely most important thing about bathing a Persian coat, and what is maybe often done hastily. A Persian coat that is not rinsed properly gives just as unkept an impression as an unbathed cat. If you want to make en effort to get a good result, spend a few extra minutes on the rinsing. It is usually recommended to rinse for at least twenty minutes, but I find that exaggerating, but it does take eight to ten minutes to rinse the coat thoroughly. Don’t forget the legs and the underside of the cat (the belly). If you only rinse over the back, all the shampoo remnants will run under the belly and the legs. Drying A Persian coat consists of guard hairs, “middle hair” and underwool. This means it is completely unsuitable to let the cat dry on its own. It certainly does not give a pretty result. The underwool causes the coat to tangle if it is damp, and one can get a lovely bunch of tangles to handle as a result (something that pleases neither the cat nor the owner). It also takes quite a long time for the coat to dry. After bathing, dry the cat well with towels, before it is time for the next step (see below). Dry the cat till it is properly dry, or you will risk that the coat tangles (under the belly, on the back of the legs).When drying a Persian, there are three alternatives to choose between: 1. A
blow-dryer. Depending on which blow-dryer you use the drying
time differs of course. One should be careful not to blow-dry at a
too high temperature. The coat dries out quickly, and the skin may
become irritated. Try to get hold of a blow-dryer, which blows a
lot, but still has a mild temperature. Personally, I find
blow-drying the worst alternative. What I prefer to recommend, and
which every household has and also has a mild temperature, is the
vacuum cleaner (see the next chapter). |
Drying the cat with a
vacuum cleaner also ensures it dries quickly. In order to be able to use
the vacuum cleaner to dry with, it is necessary that you have a vacuum cleaner,
which can blow hot air out instead of suck air in. Make sure to
blow the vacuum cleaner through properly before directing the air at the
cat, or you will have to rebathe the cat because of the dust and
other things that might be blown out of the vacuum cleaner. It is a good
idea to leave the vacuum cleaner on for a while, so the heat of the motor
temperates the air coming out. If the air is cold, you risk getting
a cat with sniffles. If you leave the vacuum cleaner on while drying the cat with a towel, it gets used to the sound, and problems seldom occur with this method. It is important that you keep calm, so the cat realizes it is not dangerous. It is most often the blowing sound the cats are afraid of, but if you start by blowing them on the rear end of the body, they usually relax and find out it is not so dangerous after all. The vacuum cleaner should be held close to the cat’s body for optimal effect, at a distance of about 5-10 cms. If the cat is completely terrified, one might have to use the blow-dryer in any case. 3. A blow-dryer for pets. The most expensive and in my opinion the best alternative. There are different models and prices to choose between. In principle a coat-blow-dryer works like a vacuum cleaner, it also sounds like one. But in spite of that, the difference between a vacuum cleaner and a coat-blow-dryer, is similar to the difference between a blow-dryer and a vacuum cleaner. I bought my coat-blow-dryer about a year ago, and I don’t regret doing so for a second. Mine was about 2.500 SEK. You can probably find cheaper ones and more expensive ones. If you only have one or two cats, you can manage with the vacuum cleaner. The largest difference between these three alternative drying methods is in the time you save when drying the cats. If you have many cats to bathe, then every saved minute is worth gold. |
| When the cat is bathed and dry - I usually apply
some antistatic spray to the brush and brush the cat thoroughly.
Then it’s ready. This part about antistatic spray is worth
mentioning. Exactly as with the shampoos there are many brands to
choose between. I can recommend the following three products which
I would be very reluctant to do without:
- Ring 5 Coat
Gloss (antistatic spray). May be used every time you brush
the cat. The product does not leave the coat heavy and greasy,
which makes it essential in the winter, when the coats may become
extra unmanageable in the dry air that is often found indoors in
the winter. The antistatic spray is sprayed on the brush, not
directly on the coat, and is then brushed in. |
The reason it is not sprayed directly on the coat
is only that you easily apply too much that way. - Cardinal Unicoat. Also a very good -product, which does not leave the coat heavy and greasy. |
Dry coats?
Another miracle product worth mentioning if the
coat gets very dry is Ring 5 Cat Protein Conditioner. A wonderful
product that quickly makes damaged hairs look healthy and supple.
This product is sprayed onto the brush and brushed into the coat.
It can also be an advantage to use it as the last finish at a show,
but not too much!
This is all it takes to keep a Persian coat clean and healthy and
first and foremost clear of tangled knots. You should be especially
aware during the shedding seasons, when the coats behave very
differently than usually. How varies from cat to cat.
Stud Tail
Stud tail is a problem I would like to mention. Mostly unneutered males exhibit this phenomenon, but also neuters sometimes develop a stud tail. It is glands at the root of the tail which excrete this fat, which can seem impossible to get rid of and which looks ugly. If you don’t do anything about stud tail fast, you risk that the cat loses fur on the affected area.There is not really a miracle product against stud tail other than while bathing the cat as usual you shampoo the tail with YES dishwashing liquid, which you leave in for a few minutes. When the cat is dried and ready, you can apply talcum powder to the affected area and keep treating it with talcum powder every day. The stud tail problem is usually periodical and as a rule it is worst when the stud is most sexually active But as mentioned before even neuters may exhibit this phenomenon once in a while.
Good talcum powders to use are for example:
- Johnson´s Baby Powder
- Natusan
© 1999 Lena Nilsson
English translation © 2000 Camilla Baird
Drawings © 2000 Niels Peter Hansen
