AFTER receiving a letter from a reader who was concerned about a neighbour of hers who had taken it upon themselves to groom their own cat and noticed that they had cut the cats whiskers I decided this week to address the issue of cat grooming. The reader was right to be concerned as you should never ever cut a cats whiskers. A cat has twenty four whiskers which are three times thicker than it’s hair which are rooted very deep in the cat’s face on an area that is rich in nerves and blood vessels. They also have long tactile hairs on their cheeks and shorter ones on their chin and above their eyebrows and at the back of their front legs. What a lot of people don’t realise however is that far from being decorative, whiskers are in fact crucial to a cat as they use them for navigation, measuring distances and openings and also for indicating their moods. When they are angry or threatened a cat will pull back their whiskers or if they are happy they will be more relaxed and pushed forward.

Whiskers help your cat feel their way around and are extremely sensitive so much so that they can feel even the slightest change of direction in the wind! So the rule is never trim or even wash a cat’s whiskers, they will look after them themselves.

In fact when it comes to grooming, cats are the best ones to do the job. Cats are very clean and tidy animals and instinctively groom themselves regularly by licking themselves all over with their tongue. This removes excess hair and dead skin cells, tones their muscles and promotes better blood circulation as well as keeping their fur clean and soft.

However although your cat can groom itself you can still do your part in helping them stay well groomed. While many long hair cat owners will take their pet to a professional groomer, short hair cat owners can help out by brushing the cat with a soft bristle brush using gentle strokes in the direction of the coat, avoiding the eye and whisker area. This helps promote proper grooming and is also a great bonding experience but take it slowly with a cat who has never been brushed before as some cats simply don’t like it. By brushing your cat you may also recognise other problems that you may not ordinarily notice such as lumps or cuts that may need attention.

Incidentally according to Vet John Garrahy from the Treaty Veterinary clinic if a cat has stopped grooming itself altogether this actually means something is wrong.

The cat may be sick or in pain or suffering from conditions like feline dementia or arthritis and therefore not physically able to groom anymore. If you notice your cat has stopped grooming or is grooming less than before you should have them checked out at your local vet clinic and equally if they are over grooming themselves this may be a sign of neurotic behaviour that may need addressing.

Another area of cat grooming that should be checked with your local vet is their nails, it’s important to ask about the proper way to trim them as you don’t want to hurt them in the process.