General Eye And Bath Cleaning For Long Hair Cat?

[sivyaleah]

Our new Maine Coon baby hasn't quite gotten the hang of completely washing her face yet and her eyes have been collecting a wee bit of gunk at the corners. No infection - she just was at the vet and all looks good and clear, just regular stuff we all call "sleep" LOL.

What is the best/easiest/quickest/safest way to clean this from her? I tried using one of those round, warm wet cotton pads, but that didn't really work too well - I felt like I had to press too hard and didn't want to hurt her.

Also, would love a recommendation for a kitten friendly shampoo. I don't normally give my cats baths except under dire circumstances, however, the breeder and I were talking when I picked her up and she used to groom for a living also. She already had started bathing Luna and since she's used to it, and being that I'd actually would like to see her looking in top condition, I'm thinking I *might* like to do this periodically but not sure the best product to use. In the past I've used baby shampoo but I recently read that actually might not be the best thing to use.

Oh and maybe cleansing wipes? LOL. For those occasional cling-ons. I've had to snip those out of our other adult long hair cat at times and I'm confident using them, but would prefer not to take a scissor or de-matting tool close to the tush of a tiny kitten yet. We're working on the grooming thing, and teaching her not to attack the comb lol.

Any other grooming items you can suggest for a long haired breed is appreciated! Perhaps posiepurrs might be able to assist me?

 

[Furballsmom]

Try a q-tip for the eye gunk maybe?

How To Bathe Small Kittens The Safe Way

 

[sivyaleah]

Try a q-tip for the eye gunk maybe?

Maybe - the only problem is it's crusty and hard, I don't think the Q-tip will be able to soak up enough moisture to loosen it up enough. I kind of think I need something that I can leave sitting on her for like a minute or so to really loosen it up so it wipes away. I know I can't just pick it off either because I might scratch her, and then wind up possibly infecting her myself

EDIT: PS - Thanks for the article. However, she's not a "small" kitten, she's now over 4 months, going on 5 months. But it did have recommendations for shampoo so that was very helpful!

 

[posiepurrs]

I am headed to bed right now but when I get on my laptop in the morning I will send you the recipe for what I use.

 

[GoldyCat]

You could soak one of the cotton pads and hold it on the eyes for a couple of minutes. Then use a dampened Q-tip to removed the gunk.

 

[Furballsmom]

 

[darg]

The dried crud will soften if you allow some water to soak in for a couple of minutes. I use warm water on a soft pad and get the area wet but not dripping wet. Give it a few minutes and it can be gently wiped away. A wet q-tip helps get more of it in the creases of the nose. Just be careful around the eyes, especially with the q-tip.

The stains are another story. I use a product called Eye Envy which helps greatly but I don't keep up with it enough to get him completely tear stain free. I clean my Himilayan's eyes about twice a week on average, more frequently if needed.

 

[neely]

Any other grooming items you can suggest for a long haired breed is appreciated!

Most of our cats have been long haired and this particular stainless steel comb has worked wonders on them:
PetEdge - Wholesale Dog Grooming Products & Pet Supplies

 

[sivyaleah]

Most of our cats have been long haired and this particular stainless steel comb has worked wonders on them:
PetEdge - Wholesale Dog Grooming Products & Pet Supplies

Thanks for that rec!

We actually bought a Chris Christenson comb for her - the 000 Fine/Coarse Butter Comb which was recommended specifically for Maine Coons by the breeder - she used to do grooming and still enjoys it a lot. I didn't notice she'd written it in the package we received. Looks exactly like the one you posted (which I notice has no price). It was $32. Very well made.

We're working on getting her used to being groomed as she thinks everything is a toy right now LOL. Starting her on a soft brush, a few minutes a day since her coat isn't anywhere near needing the comb yet. She's not one of those supper fluffy coon babies - there seems to be a difference in coats between CFA and TICA bred MC's - from what I've seen the TICA's are a LOT more dense already at her age. She has a more silky coat, which I think will take longer to fill out. Either that, or some breeders are grooming their kittens uber fluffy for photoshoots on Instagram, which is entirely possible too!

Our other cat (my avatar) LOVES this comb. Holy moly. She like to be groomed anyway but she's taking a real liking to it. She'll roll over without us even having to try to do the other side of her, let us do her belly, I can even manage her tail with it which she usually isn't too thrilled with. It looks intimidating (my husband was actually kind of miffed I purchased it when he saw it at first) but really, it's quite gentle on them and I even managed to pull apart a minor mat on Cocoabean with it, no muss no fuss.

2 thumbs up for it!