Summer Shedding

Cat Mom Advice Volume 1

Happy Tuesday, Belles & Beaux!

I know that I typically don’t do a lot of pet posts – especially as Miss Katherine is currently not living with me full time right now. But there are still some things that I can share with all of you. Like how to help with those cat parent moments that we all dread – summer shedding.

I’m sure a few of you thought this was a workout post. It’s not. By now you should know that this is not that kind of blog and never will be. I love working out, but I’m not going to share that over here. There are just some things that I shouldn’t share and I’m not workout genius. No, today we’re going to talk about cat maintenance and how you can help them reduce hairballs as well as their shedding all over the place.

Cats – even when living inside- grow a winter coat to keep them warm during the colder months. This is great… Until the summer months set in and they begin the shedding process. Now, I’m in no way complaining because I know that Miss Katherine and I could have it a million times worse than what we do. She’s not what we cat people call a floof. A floof is basically any cat with long fur. Katherine is of the short fur breed so it’s pretty easy to keep her cool when it comes to the shedding department. It also doesn’t hurt that she absolutely loves to be brushed.

Now there are many a brushes that you can use, but you just need to be mindful that your cat may not absolutely love any solution until they’ve grown used to the brush. Personally, I prefer the brush because it’s easier with Katherine. Even though she has short fur, I still do a gentle back combing technique that helps to get the most fur out in a brushing session.

My biggest suggestions are the following:

Be gentle! This is always rule number one when it comes to brushing because you don’t always know where the knots might be or how your cat will react. Sometimes they’re super sensitive about where they want to be brushed. For Katherine, she’s not the biggest fan of her stomach so I try to be as fast and gentle as possible there.
Let you cat tell you when the session is over! I cannot stress this enough. Next to being gentle, this is probably the most important thing in the world. Until your cat shows that they absolutely love the brush and willing comes to you when they see it out, let them tell you when the brushing session is over. Cats are super great but weird communicators. If they walk away, do not chase after them. Sometimes Katherine will move away but then she looks at me like “Hey, are you gonna come over here and continue?” You’ll have to learn the way your cat communicates in this case.
Test out different brushes. I know this might be a dumb idea to some, but cats are sensitive. Some like the curry combs, some like the ones that are like the old bristle brushes from the 1920s. Your cat will respond to what they enjoy the most. There’s also a really cool mit that is a brush that I’m going to be investing in to try with Katherine soon because even after brushing sessions, she still sheds when we pet her.
Reward good behavior! Rewarding your cat when they sit through a session teaches them – much like rewarding a dog who performs a trick correctly – that if they sit through the session then it’s a good thing so they will start to associate the brush with good things. Try this as well if you have a cat that isn’t big on company because they’ll start to associate company with good things. Dental treats are the best as they will help with tartar build up on their teeth!

And there you have it! Four simple tricks to help with brushing sessions with your cat this summer. If you’re a cat mom, then let me know in the comments what your cat prefers as far as brushing sessions.