Persian Cats: Grooming Techniques Part 2

Cleaning the inside of the cat’s ears:

This should be done last. Most cats will shake their head afterwards. If you think soap might get into the Persian’s eyes, place a tiny drop of plain, unscented mineral oil into each eye just before bathing.

The Bath

• Place the Persian cat in the sink or tub
• Face the cat away from you to the left or to the right or directly in front, never facing you (this helps to keep the cat from escaping)
• Start the kitten out early
• Handle the cats carefully, yet with authority (this helps to teach the cat to tolerate bath time and to trust that you will not hurt him or her)
• Use a small, soft toothbrush on the face (with tearless shampoo especially for cats)
• You can also use a small, soft cloth or baby wash cloth on the face
• Place one hand on the back of the Persian
• Run the water in the hose until you get a comfortable lukewarm temperature that would be suitable for bathing an human infant
• Sometimes, you can cut down the noise of the sprayer by putting the head on the cat
• If the sound of the water still annoys the Persian, cover the hose with a small towel or sponge while its running
• Allow the cat to hear the sounds and to see them (this is most definitely a good idea for the first bath)
• Stay calm
• Soothe your cat with low, sweet talk and gentle touching
• If he or she senses you are apprehension, he or she will most likely become the same
• If the cat is extra annoyed, put down a wet towel for the cat to stand on and grasp his nails
• For first few baths, make them short
• As cat becomes accustoms to the bath, decrease the amount of restraint, and increase time bathing
• Once water is correct temperature, begin wetting the cat with the hose in one hand and working the water in with the other while rubbing the cat gently and talking
• When the coat is completely wet, turn off the water
• Apply shampoo
• There are many shampoos you can use, human and cat, experiment to see which is best for your particular cat
• Slightly diluted Dawn dish detergent is a favorite for many Persian owners to use for the first lather or two
• Then use a delimonene cat safe professional quality shampoo (this type of shampoo is too thick to use unless diluted, they are meant to be diluted)
• A small sponge works well to work a good lather
• Do not scrub, with the exception of foot pads and toe nails that absorb odor
• Bring the shampoo to a good lather and then rinse
• Always start at the head and work back whether bathing or rinsing
• While rinsing, use one hand to work the shampoo in and out until the coat is completely rinsed
• Apply shampoos again and repeat the same procedure for a better lathering process
• Rinse again and lather one last time
• Rinse, rinse, rinse (this is the actual bathing of the coat, the rinsing of the suds through the coat)
• After the third and final bathing and lathering, use a conditioner to cut down on the static electricity created by dryers
• Rinse, rinse and rinse the conditioner out of the coat
• When the coat is rinsed completely, it will have a squeaky feel
• Rub off excess water from the coat in the direction of the growth of the hair
• Apply a towel to the cat in the tub and pat the coat
• Do not rub
• Wash your hands

The next grooming procedure should be trimming the ears and nails.

• Pick your Persian cat up in a towel (this has a calming effect)
• Take he or she to the grooming table
• Wipe the eyes, face and ears with the damp towel or baby wash cloth
• While cat is wrapped in towel, check around the eyes for straggly hairs missed and clip with the scissors
• Separate ear tuffs from the ears and gently trim around top of the ears, remove excess feathering, making them round
• Be careful when trimming hair from the ears, better to do this when the hair is wet so you can easily see the ear leather
• If you accidentally slice the ear leather, it will not regenerate and it will bleed quite heavily
• The best time to clip the nails is while the cat is wet
• Do not clip down to the pink quick, there will be bleeding if you do so
• Many cats object to having their paws held and pinched enough to extend the claw, so be careful and gentle to avoid getting scratched

It is recommended you use a dryer especially for drying animals, as human dryers, sometimes get too hot. If you do use a human dryer, use the low setting.

• Place your cat on the grooming table and begin fluff drying the coat
• Use a gentle slicker brush and continuously brush the coat in all directions until every hair is completely dry
• If your cat turns around and walks around, work with the cat as he or she moves
• Be patient
• Once the coat is completely dried and fluffed out, hand scissor the face with thinning shears or hand pluck to give a rounded, natural looking appearance
• The face and head should look neat, not untidy, or over-plucked
• Longer ear tuffs creates a longer length in the face, of which you do not want
• If you find heavy coat growth around the rectal area, clip some of this away
• Remember that using a slicker brush will give you more volume and less static electricity

Part 1 of this article can be found on the website in the section: Grooming Techniques for Show and Pet Maintenance

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