Ten Reasons to Brush Your Cat

1. Avoid Mats
Long hair cats' fur will mat into clumps if not brushed. Try to brush your long-haired cat's fur daily, or at least a few times weekly to help prevent tangles. Brush short-haired cats at least weekly. If your cat does have a mat, try using a comb with wide teeth to loosen the mat. If your cat starts squirming a lot, give it a break and try again the next day. The longer the cat has the mat, the closer it usually mats to the skin, which can make the skin tender. If the mat is really bad, you may need to cut it out. Be careful when cutting out matted fur though, because cat's skin is very stretchy and it's easy to nick them by accident. Take your cat to a professional groomer if the mats are really bad.

2. Reduce Furballs
The more fur your kitty ingests, the more furballs he or she is likely to spit up. When a cat grooms herself, loose fur comes off onto their tongue, which they end up swallowing. Cat's tongues are actually have small backward facing barbs which help them to clean themselves and help to scoop up water when drinking. What the means though, is their tongue is very effective in removing loose fur. More fur removed when cleaning = more fur ingested.

Brushing helps remove excess fur, which results in less fur in your kitties stomach when bathing (licking). In turn, less fur ingested results in fewer furballs.

3. Less Vacuuming
Regular brushing helps to prevent excess shedding, which means less fur on your carpet. That translates into less vacuuming needed. And let's face it...we can all use a break from housework.

The time in which it takes for cat fur to show up on your carpet can be an indicator of how much brushing your cat needs. Does it take a week of no vacuuming before you start visibly seeing cat hair on your carpet? If so, maybe weekly brushing is enough for your cat. If, however, you are seeing lots of fur on the carpet after a day or two, you likely have a cat, especially true for long-hair cats, that would benefit from more frequent brushing.

4. Less Fur on Clothes
Regular brushing helps to prevent excess shedding, which means less fur on your clothes. You may even save a little, buying fewer lint rollers. LOL!

5. Cooler Kitty in Summer Time
In the Spring and Summer, along with the warm weather, cats usually shed their undercoats (if they are long fur) and their fur thins out. Help them shed this extra fur by brushing them regularly. For cats with really thick undercoats, a wide-tooth comb works well to start out. Once much of the excess undercoat is removed, a brush helps to remove the additional excess fur.

6. Feels Good to Kitty

OK, some kitties don't like brushing. But the ones that do, really love it. And many kitties that originally don't like brushing, get used to it after a while. I've had some that started LOVING it once they got used to it. And since it's good for them, it's good for you to try to get them used to it.My cats all love brushing so much now, that when I start brushing one, the other ones come over begging for a "massage" too!

7. Kitty Looks Better

A well-groomed coat always looks better. Brush your cat to help him look more handsome, or her more beautiful.

8. Good for Kitty's Coat
When you brush your cat, it helps to spread his or her natural oils, which helps your kitty's shiny coat.

9. Removes Dirt

When you brush your cat, it helps to remove dirt, grease and dead skin flakes from their fur.

10. Helps Kitty's Blood Circulation

The tips of the bristles 'massage' your kitty's skin with the brushing action, which helps stimulate blood circulation. Increased blood circulation can in turn, enhance the cat's fur so contributes to #8 above.