For my first blog of 2021, I wanted to discuss frequency of grooming to keep cats in great, mat-free condition. At the end of every first groom, I chat with the cat's owners about maintenance grooming. As well as remediating existing problems (matting or pelting, as well as sanitary issues and fleas) it’s really important to me to work with my clients to prevent problems from returning. No one wants "grooming groundhog day" where I end up doing extensive de-matting on a kitty over and over again - least of all the kitty, who suffers discomfort and pain when matted. Once matting as happened once (unless it was due to a one-off such as rolling in candle wax), it will reoccur – short of a very dramatic change being implemented in their home grooming regime. A single remedial groom is not a one-stop solution to prevent matting for the rest of the cat’s life, if their coat is to remain mat-free kitty will need regular grooming on-going. Regarding frequency, at the end of the first groom I highly recommend clients get booked in to begin their cat’s preventative (or maintenance) grooming schedule. Having seen a cat just the one time, it is hard to judge the exact frequency that will be required. Therefore, I tend to set the initial interval based upon coat length and condition, and the cat’s temperament (more on this below) and then refine the interval depending upon the condition of the coat at the first preventative appointment. If kitty is still coming in badly matted, the frequency will be amended to be at shorter intervals. Conversely, if kitty is in excellent shape then the client will be given the option to extend to a longer interval. When setting the first interval, I tend to recommend up to 3 months for shorthair cats, and up to 2 months for long- and semi-longhaired cats – as a general rule of thumb. If kitty was in extremely bad grooming condition at their first groom, a 4 weekly maintenance schedule will be recommended at least for the first couple of sessions as this may be needed to get their coat back into an excellent condition. Equally, if the owner is very keen to keep kitty clean, keep shedding to a minimum, or simply wants to focus on enjoying their time at home with their furbaby rather than having to worry about doing much home-grooming, then a monthly schedule will be more appropriate. Interestingly, the colour of the cat’s fur may also be a good indicator of grooming frequency! “Dilute” coloured coats (for example, grey (or “blue”, to use the correct terminology) as the dilute expression of the black coat colour; or cream/strawberry blonde as the dilute expression of ginger (“red”) coat) are much more mat-prone than their non-dilute coloured counterparts! This is due to genetics: the gene that leads to a dilute coat colour is also linked to the texture of the coat, causing it to be more mat-prone. So grey cats, cream cats, strawberry blonde (as opposed to bright ginger) cats etc are likely to require shorter intervals between grooms. The other factor is the cat’s temperament. Cats who are aggressive during their first groom will be recommended a “little and often” schedule – generally once monthly appointments for longhaired cats, and up to 8 weekly for short hairs. The importance of “little and often” for aggressive cats is to ensure: a) They are not badly matted and therefore already in discomfort every single time they come to me (not ever a good start, especially because matted cats become hypersensitised to being touched as they are accustomed to it hurting them and can lash out to try and avoid that pain ☹ ). b) Each appointment can be completed within the cat’s “turkey timer”- IE, their window of tolerance before they become unmanageably aggressive or stressed. This window is typically a couple of hours for most cats, but in the case of some cats can be as short as 30 minutes. c) Kitty becomes used to grooming appointments as a regular, predictable and normal part of their lives. In this way, an initially aggressive cat can have the best chance to learn that grooming is not painful, not an existential threat and no reason to become aggressive. It can take a few sessions, but I have seen dramatic changes in cats’ behaviour (comparing the initial/remedial groom to subsequent maintenance grooms) when a regular and frequent schedule is stuck to. Working with cats and their owners to improve the cat's coat status and welfare is an incredibly rewarding part of what I do, and is very important to me as both a groomer and a cat-lover. If you are experiencing difficulties keeping on top of your kitty's grooming situation at home and want to get the immediate issues resolved, and keep them from reoccurring, do feel free to get in touch :) Cuddles to your kitties! Emma Fegan Master Cat Groomer & Owner, Feline Good Cat Grooming