Cat unable to reach area in grooming

Question
Thank you so much for your reply...

Is there a particular brand among those that you would recommend over the others?  We've mostly fed them Purina One Advanced Hairball and Healthy weight.  Is this a good food?  If not, what's bad about it?

Also, we've not been able to afford buying them a more expensive food, so are any of the ones you mention less expensive than the others?  We actually upgraded them from Purina Cat Chow to what they have now, in hopes that it would help with her weight, but now that I see she's been progressivly having the grooming issue, I'm not convinced it's helping.

A couple of pieces of info:

- Sunny absolutely refuses to eat canned food (which from my own experiences with cat weight, is actually a good thing)

- She gets quite a lot of exercise, due to her brother (litter sibling) being quite active, so it's not that she's inactive.  We're thinking of also increasing her activity by buying toys that make her jump in the air a bit to help work out her back half (which has the most weight).  Would that help, do you think?

Thanks so much for your time...I'm Rosie, the expert in the behaviour section...so I know the question amount can really get quite heavy at times.  So, I really appreciate your time.  :o)

Rosie

-------------------------

Followup To

Question -
Hello, Tomay!

I have a two year old, spayed, female named Sunny.  She's a bit overweight, and seemingly unable to reach the part of her back that meets her tail (as the area has gotten progressively oily and is now a bit clumpy as well).  What can I use (with the least amount of stress to my girl) to clean the area?  Is there some form of pet wipes I can use?  How about using baby wipes (sensitive skin with aloe)?

What do you suggest as the best way to clean this area on my kitty thoroughly, but short of giving her an actual water bath?

Thank you so much,

Rosanna

Answer -
Hello Rosanna,
Baby wipes are just fine for cleaning purposes.  There are also products available for 'dry bath'. They come in mousse form, and work quite nicely.  The clumps that are accumulating at the base of her tail will have to be removed, as they will continue to grow...a narrow toothed comb works best for this.  If you get a regular steel comb (doesn't have to be expensive..usually just a couple dollars or so) and weave a rubber band in and out of the teeth, keeping it close to the spine of the comb, this will do WONDERS in removing that dead and loose coat.  You may have to work it a bit at a time, but it can be done successfully.  Another option is to check around and find a groomer in your area who works with cats (as not all groomers do) and have her professionally groomed, and then you can just keep up with it with your handy dandy comb!.  It may also be helpful to have the groomer do a 'sanitary clip', taking the coat under the tail very short.  You may also consider changing her diet to something that is a 'lite' formula for weight loss.  Precise, Innova, Nature's Balance, NutroMax, and Nature's Choice are premium, high quality foods that have these types of 'diet' foods.
Hope this has been helpful, and thank you for your inquiry and your intrest in this site.
Tomay

Answer
Hi Rosie, fellow expert!
Sorry for the delay in getting back with you.  Been a little hectic!  Anyway, yes, I think more exercise can only be a good thing.  So toys to keep her active are a good idea.  (laser pointers are quite entertaining for everyone involved!)
Food choice for a reasonable price would be NutroMax.  While it's not the top of the line, it is certainly a better choice.  The problem with mainstream commercial brands of food, is the fillers and the quality of the ingredients.  Beaks, feathers, and even 'road kill' is considered suitable for passing guidelines for pet food requirements.  The grains used are many times hulls and floor 'scrap', not the whole grain used in the premium brands.  Purina has been around for a long time and successful, obviously, but so has McDonald's, and we all know how 'healthy' that is!  I'm not picking on Purina, just using it as an example...The advantage to feeding the better diets is not only to the health and well being of the pet, but also, in the long run, financial as well.  Because these premium foods are more concentrated with better ingredients, the body absorbs more of the nutrition, and wastes less..(easier litter box cleanups and definately less odor).  And because more nutrients are being absorbed, less food is required to maintain good health.  So, the pet eats less, wastes less and benefits nutritionally.  This can be very helpful for Sunny Girl and her weight issues.  It may be worth it to just buy a bag and try it for a few weeks and see if you notice results.  (She didn't put on the weight overnight, so it won't come off overnight!)
Hope this info has been helpful.  And good luck with Sunny's weight management.
Thanx again,
Tomay