Not Just For Show: The Life-Threatening Ailment Regular Grooming Prevents

Some people think that having pets professionally groomed regularly is a foolish expense. However, many pet parents continue to persist in having their pets professionally groomed. Whether or not you count yourself among them, you should know that having your cat groomed could potentially save their life. Read on to learn why having your cat groomed is so important and what can befall them without your support.

What Cat Groomers Do

Whether or not you want your cat's appearance styled, pet groomers can do your pet a great service by grooming them. Professional groomers will thoroughly comb and brush your pet's fur, getting down to the undercoat and removing any loose or dead fur that needs to come out. In addition, trimming nails is typically performed during pet groomings, which can spare you and your furniture from a lot of unwanted scratching. More importantly, however, is that these two simple steps can help protect your cat's health.

Overgrown Nails

Cats typically sharpen their claws on hard or jagged surfaces in order to sharpen and shorten their claws, as well as to remove dead layers from their claws. However, cats can't always get ahold of good scratching surfaces, especially if they're kept indoors all the time. In these instances, claws can become overgrown, making it uncomfortable to walk.

Worse still, if the problem isn't resolved, overgrown claws can actually grow long enough to puncture a cat's own pads. This is not only an extremely painful problem that makes it nearly impossible for a cat to walk, but it also comes with a large risk of infection.

Ingested Fur

Many cat owners probably think that since cats have evolved to groom themselves, they don't need any help removing excess fur. On the other hand, cats are also notorious for throwing up hairballs.

The fact is, while cats can manage to pass small quantities of fur, large masses of fur can become stuck in their digestive tract. This is especially true of cats with long or thick fur. If these masses become lodged in their digestive tract, their entire digestive system can fail, causing death. If your cat has ever coughed up a hairball, they need to be groomed.

Having your cat groomed isn't vain or wasteful; it's actually a step that can help to protect your cat's well-being and health. Don't let any naysayers keep you from doing what's right for your kitty. For more information, contact a groomer at a location like Loving Care Animal Hospital.