How to Keep a Cat From Biting & Scratching You When Grooming

Grooming a cat should be a pleasurable experience for both feline and owner. However, with some cats, breaking out the brush can be more akin to jumping into a knife fight. Here's how to make your cat a pretty kitty without worrying about sustaining mortal injuries.

Things You'll Need

  • Cat brush
  • Treats
  • Cat nail clippers
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Instructions

    • 1

      Choose the time and place wisely when preparing to groom your cat. Try to pick a time of day when your cat is calm and happy, not hungry, annoyed or stressed out. Instead of bringing the cat into a cold bathroom or other place to groom her, go to where the cat is. It's OK to sit with your cat on the carpet in a beam of sunlight while you brush her fur and trim her nails.

    • 2

      Start petting your cat instead of jumping right into grooming. Once she starts to purr, then you can slowly add a few brushstrokes in between pets. Stop frequently to give her affection and a scratch under the chin, behind the ears or wherever she prefers.

    • 3

      Only brush in the direction of fur growth, from head back towards tail and from top to bottom of the cat. Brushing against fur growth might irritate kitty and cause her to bite or scratch.

    • 4

      Be careful when grooming sensitive areas, such as under the cat's belly or around her face. If the cat starts to exhibit stress, stop and go back to petting instead for a little while.

    • 5

      Give the cat frequent treats while grooming to keep her happy and get her to associate grooming with good things.

    • 6

      Limit initial grooming sessions to 5 to 10 minutes. You can build up gradually later if you want, but at the start it's more important to form positive associations and keep the cat calm than to get every part of the cat brushed. It's OK if you can only brush half of the cat in this time frame. Come back later and get the other half when she is calm.