You may think that cat’s don’t need grooming in winter, when in fact they may need more grooming!
The end of winter, my phone rings off the hook, as many cat owners have matted cats.
Why is this?
Because they have been matting for the whole of winter and have been putting off clipping their cat because of the cold meanwhile, matting gets tighter and spreads the longer you wait.
Let’s look at the life cycle of the cat’s hair shaft.
- Anagen – This is the active growing phase of the hair.
- Catagen – This phase signals the end of the active growing phase, hair growth slows down.
- Telogen – The resting phase of the hair cycle.
- Exogen – Shedding phase.
Before winter, a cat’s coat is built up for protection and warmth. If the cat has not had the undercoat from spring/summer shedding removed, and has a clean coat and room for undercoat to grow into, the cat’s coat will start to mat. During winter 70% of the primary hairs and 90% of secondary hairs, are in resting phase (not shedding), hence the large amount of coat. This also explains why they shed such large amounts, as these Telogen (resting) hairs must become shedding hairs.
The cold wet air also can add to the likelihood of a cat matting, touching the wet grass, can cause parts of the cat to mat. If the cat becomes wet, it must be dried properly, and the coat separated to prevent matting. Just like our hair, if we are to wet it, and let it dry without combing/brushing, the hairs group and cause knots. Wet hair not dried properly, like with dogs, can cause bacteria to grow at the skin.
So in short, cat’s need their undercoat regularly combed out, and prevent medium to long hair cats getting wet outside, if they do, comb them as they dry to let air in and separate the hairs.
Want to learn more about matting prevention and removing undercoat?
See my courses:
Professional: Bathing the Feline, Clipping the Feline.
Cat owner courses: Short hair coat maintenance course, Long hair coat maintenance course.
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Who am I?
I’m Lexie Goldsmith,
My slow introduction and low stress handling techniques have been proven over 14 years of grooming cats without sedation and many happy clients, being the go-to cat groomer in my state.
I am contacted regularly by people all over the world wanting to learn cat grooming from me, and this makes me excited to see students now grooming cats with my videos, instructions and support.
I am a Qualified Veterinary Nurse, Pet Stylist and Master Cat Groomer, available for your cat grooming education needs.
Come join me on your cat grooming journey, I promise you will not be disappointed, I have a 30day money back guarantee for all courses.
More information on my courses here
Cat Grooming Education 