If you are already a happy owner of a snuggly, purring kitty, you know that they are very attentive when it comes to grooming themselves.

On top of that, most cats are indoors and have much lesser degree in variation than dogs.

There are basically three variants of domestic cats:

  • Short-haired – the vast majority of cats.
  • Long-haired – like Maine Coons, Persians, and Angoras – all have still much shorter hair than a dog considered to be long-haired.
  • Hairless – extremely rare Sphynx cats.

All three variants require drastically less grooming than dogs, and need bathing only a couple of times per year, especially in the shedding season.

Still, that doesn’t mean you need to neglect them completely, so here are the best cat grooming tools on the market.

Brushing Tools

Just like with dogs, it would be best to acclimate your cat to brushing from an early age. This is called desensitization, meaning that your cat will cause you no hassle when you engage in grooming later in life.

Although cats are very particular about their grooming, and will spend a lot of time doing it, they do need some help. Unless you plan on having cat hair all over your sheets, couch, pillows, and clothes.

Of course, the only exception would be the hairless Sphynx cats.

Many people have both dogs and cats in their home, but do keep in mind it is always better to have cat-specific tools. After all, cats are far more sensitive to touching.

There are several brushing options when it comes to cat grooming:

  • The Furminator is excellent for directly and gently getting to the coat of your cat, thus significantly lessening the shedding situation. It is suitable for both short-haired and long-haired cats.
  • Something that you may not even knew existed – a cat grooming glove – for those cats that are accustomed to your touch, but not to strange objects. As the name suggests, it’s simply a brush incorporated into a glove. Needless to say, you will do a much more thorough job with such a conforming brushing glove. This one fits the glove perfectly, both for your cat and for your furniture!
  • Grooming post/arch– a supplementary cat brushing fixture that your cat will use on its own. They will simply not be able to resist rubbing against a brushing pillar, giving them a smooth, relaxing massage in the process. It could come in a form of an arch or a straight single pillar. Both options are very cheap so you might want to get both. Here is a good arched grooming post.

Bathing

As we previously mentioned, cats are altogether different from dogs when it comes to bathing. Their mostly take care of this with their rough tongues, so it’s only appropriate to bathe them 2-3 times per year.

However, if your cat simply cannot stand contact with water, there is quite a creative solution in form of a spray for a waterless cat bath. It doesn’t even need rinsing, and it serves as a dry shampoo.

Bet you didn’t even know such an option existed!

On the other hand, if your cat is one of those rare exceptions that has no hate relationship with water, a dedicated hypoallergenic shampoo will do just fine. Please avoid using human shampoos for your pets; you never know if they will react badly.

And lastly, if your kitty gets dirty, it may not be necessary to do a full bath. Instead, opt for cat wipes free of allergens and fragrance. Hundred pieces at super cheap price should hold you for a long time.

Nail Clippers

This is super important!

Cats use their nails like dogs use their mouths; their nails are their main way of interacting with the world and you don’t want blood-gushing scratches to be a daily occurrence.

In fact, remember that cat’s nails are called claws for a reason.

If you already have nail clippers for your dog, you are good to go. These ones are considered all-around best for pets – easy to handle and expediently sharp. Surprisingly priced as well.

With that taken care of, please bear in mind to avoid hard, polished surfaces with almost no traction in your home. Without longer nails, cats will have a hard time traversing their environment, and may even injure themselves.

Cat grooming clippers

Something necessary, although it is best to be avoided, if possible. Cat grooming clippers are used on long haired breeds and if all other mat-removing options are exhausted. Check out our recommendations of the quietest cat hair clippers to help you keep your cat calm during grooming.

Dental Care

This is a tricky one.

Like dogs, cats also need their teeth brushed in order to avoid a variety of oral diseases. Here is a useful stat to make you understand why you should brush your pet’s teeth, be their dogs or cats:

When you neglect teeth brushing, 70% of cats develop some kind of gum condition, when they are just 2 years old!

However, if you haven’t familiarized your cat to teeth brushing from a very early age, it will be more difficult to do than both hair brushing and bathing. Still, it is something that must be done at least once per week.

This cat dental kit contains both a suitable tiny brush and a toothpaste that is not toxic to felines.

Pest Defense

Even if you have a small garden for your cat to roam once in a while, you can bet that your cat will be infested with fleas. It would only be a matter of time.

And once that happens, you would have to thoroughly fumigate your entire home.

To avoid this stressful hassle from happening, adorn your cat with a flea collar. Get one that not only works for fleas but for health-threatening ticks as well.

A quality flea collar will cost more, but will last for almost a year. Seresto flea collar has outstanding reviews. It is both water-resistant and odorless. On top of that, it has a nifty mechanism for a quick release if your cat gets stuck onto something.

Takeaway on Cat Grooming

As you can see, there is not much work involved with cat grooming if you equip yourself with the right tools.

When it comes to cats, it is more about their attitude and acclimation to grooming than the grooming itself that is the problem. Waterless bath spray takes care of one huge hassle, grooming glove takes care of another, but nail clipping and teeth brushing might result in quite a frenzied and stressful event!

Be mindful to watch a video or two on how to make these tasks stress-free, and always remember – the sooner you start with cat grooming in its early age, more smooth it will go later on.