What grooming habit does your cat hate the most?

[heathernichelle]

My kitty is not a fan of grooming of any sort, although over the years he has grown to tolerate certain things over others. For instance, he used to hate having his nails trimmed and then I started brushing him- he didn't mind the trims anymore. A few years ago he had a really bad yeast infection in his right ear and since then I have been cleaning his ears out weekly- let's just say he doesn't mind the brushing anymore!!

I was just curious to see if any other cats react this way, or if they adopt the 'I hate it & won't put up with it for life' category. Since he is really the only cat I have grooming experience with (and he is a super easy going cat) I just wanted to hear some tales from a few others so that I know what I can possibly expect from a cat I may get in the future.

Thank you,

Heather

 

[betsygee]

Mine don't mind nail trimming, I think because I started them on it early on, when they were kittens and they're used to it.  Even so, sometimes I have to do one paw at a time because they'll start squirming.  Same with brushing.  One cat I have LOVES being brushed--when she sees the brush in my hand, she will actually jump up to the brush to get the motion started.  Cute.  

They're all different--I suppose it depends on the age and temperament of each cat.

 

[cicoccabim]

Well, my cat HATED to have her eyes cleaned due to an infection (and I see why.....I would not like it either!). I had to hold her quite firmly to be able to apply the medicine from the vet, and she squirmed a lot. She hated the eye-cleaning liquid I had already bought. So after a few days treatment she found it quite ok that I clean her eyes and use another cleaning liquid in her eyes. And she stands still waiting for me to go through it as fast as possible. I rarely have to hold her to be able to do it. 

She was the exactly the same way when I had to clean her ears- but when she discovered that I sometimes could clean only the outer part of the ear if she worked with me- instead of the whole ear-canal- she quicky chose not fight me when cleaning ears. 

She´s figured out that she sometimes can choose the easiest/less unpleasant treatment. And that decision has made both her and mine life easier. 

Clipping ner nais is a breeze- she purrs while I clip her nails!

 

[chromium blues]

My foster kitten Elton John hates to have his bum cleaned. He's six weeks old now, FLUFFY, and not terribly well co-ordinated. Even though its usually just a matter of gently plucking the mess off his "bloomers" with a Kleenex, he screams bloody murder, which causes all the other cats to come running into the room!

 

[heathernichelle]

Blues, my kitty has the same issues. He has hip dysplasia and cannot squat for long periods of time. Generall, after pooing he falls back into it causing it to get stuck to his tail.If I'm home, I clean him up...if not it'll fall off on the ground somewhere. He doesn't typically mind it though.

Cico-I've never really needed to do the eye thing. That sounds like something he'd HATE! You have such a smart kitty...wish mine would figure all that out!

Betsy- A cat that loves too be brushed? You hit the jackpot my friend!

 

[cicoccabim]

Blues, my kitty has the same issues. He has hip dysplasia and cannot squat for long periods of time. Generall, after pooing he falls back into it causing it to get stuck to his tail.If I'm home, I clean him up...if not it'll fall off on the ground somewhere. He doesn't typically mind it though.

Cico-I've never really needed to do the eye thing. That sounds like something he'd HATE! You have such a smart kitty...wish mine would figure all that out!

Betsy- A cat that loves too be brushed? You hit the jackpot my friend!

I think I do have a smart cat

. And I use positive reinforcement all the time. So she got quite a big amount of "candy" during that infection. The combination seems to work quite well. But it is a relief that she seems to be able to understand that it gets so much easier if she cooperates. And it is over so much faster. And that I have to do it, I don´t do it to make her uncomfortable or hurt her.

One thing that seems to work is to explain to her (in a very sweet, childish voice, and a lot of cuddle during the "talk")  what I´m about to do and that is has to be done. The first days of treatment I asked her to cooperate, because none of us liked the medicine and the eye washing. And it worked! No scratching and no biting. And she didn´t get angry with me afterwards either. 

 

 

[heathernichelle]

Your kittybsounds great. I guess my Kitty just sits there and let's me do it too...but it's northern same-he will let you know that get is not hqppy with you. And, you have to etc him eat directly afterwards afterwards or forget about cuddles later!