Tips on Grooming a Cranky Cat

While cats put a lot of effort into cleaning themselves, their owners still need to groom them in order to keep them happy and healthy. Some cats enjoy the attention of these grooming sessions, but many cats become cranky and resistant when having certain body parts touched or getting wet. However, some cleaning techniques help make grooming a cranky cat easier.

  1. Patience

    • When your cat resists having its fur brushed or nails trimmed, display patience. The cat will pick up on your frustration, anger and bad mood, and only become more stressed out and upset, so pick a time when you are relaxed to groom the cat. If the cat gets tense or upset during grooming, stop. A cat will only get crankier the longer it feels threatened or mishandled. You can always resume grooming the next day.

    Start Short

    • Give a cranky cat time to adjust to being handled by gradually introducing the animal to a grooming routine. Spend between 5 and 10 minutes at a time grooming your cat for the first few sessions. Slowly make each grooming session longer. This way your cat doesn't become overwhelmed by all the different types of grooming at once or long periods of being handled.

    Positive Experience

    • A cranky cat views grooming as a negative experience. Turn it into a positive one by continuously talking and praising your cat in a comforting voice. Tell it how good it is behaving, what a good cat it is or how much you love it. When grooming has been completed, reward the animal with a cat treat. In the future, the cat will associate grooming with compliments and treats.

    Conditioning

    • Many cats dislike having their feet touched. This can make it extremely difficult to trim its nails. In between grooming sessions, gently pet, rub or touch your cat's feet. This gets it comfortable and familiar with having these parts of its body touched. Once it is use to having its feet handled, the cat won't give you such a hard time during nail trimming.

    Bath Aide

    • Chances are that you're not going to get your cat to like bath time. Most cats dislike getting wet. To make bath time easier for you and quicker for the cat, enlist the help of partner to hold the cat still while you wash it. Use lukewarm water. Fill the sink with only an inch or two of water and employ the use of a spray nozzle. In order not to startle and upset the unhappy animal any further, keep the nozzle close to the cat's fur.