Grooming is an important part of dog, horse and cat care.

Cats take care of themselves most of the time but there are certain breeds that require a little help from us. Long haired breeds can easily become matted and if left unattended these hard lumps of hair are impossible to brush out; clipping is the only way to remove them. To avoid this extra cost daily brushing will remove the loose hair and if you start young enough your cat will enjoy the extra attention and it will only take a few minutes a day.

Another thing to think about with long haired breeds of cats is hairballs; with continual self grooming the cat will regurgitate the ingested hair in the form of a hairball. Some of these are really quite big. Certain pet veterinary diets produce cat food specifically for cats that are prone to hairballs.

Brush your dog regularly too, even if he is short haired, they love it especially down the centre of their backs. Why do you see so many dogs with all four feet in the air scratching their backs in the dirt or on a hard mat, it’s because they can’t reach it any other way. Imagine how good it must feel for them to have you brush it for them, not only is it time they are having with you but it’s when you will notice if anything is not right like lumps, bumps and scratches.

Grooming horses is also important, performance horses should be brushed thoroughly everyday, it stimulates the blood, improves the health of skin and coat, gives the handler a chance to bond with the horse and is the time to check the horse for any problems. If you can’t groom your horse every day they should be thoroughly brushed before they are ridden and most importantly after, especially if they have worked up a sweat, if it’s warm enough a hose is good to wash off the sweat

It doesn’t matter who or what you are we all like some TLC and attention.