Japanese Bobtail Cat care: from grooming to bathing
The care of the Japanese Bobtail is everything related to the beauty secrets of this breed, from hygiene to daily grooming.
If you have chosen to welcome a Japanese Bobtail into your home, it is important to learn more about everything related to the hygiene and grooming of this breed.
This is because each breed has specific needs to be respected if you want a healthy and long-lived cat, as well as beautiful to look at.
In today’s article we will therefore deal with the care of the Japanese Bobtail, from hygiene to grooming the coat.
Japanese Bobtail Care: How to Care for the Coat
The care of the Japanese Bobtail needs more attention than other breeds, especially the semi-long-haired version, compared to the short-haired one.
The long-haired Bobtail, compared to the short-haired one, has a longer coat but still of medium length.
The length of the hair tends to be more evident on the back of the legs, where the fur forms a sort of “calzone”, around the neck and on the belly and tail.
For both versions in any case it is a smooth and silky soft coat, with little undercoat.
All colors are allowed but the most common colors are two-tone ones, that is with white and a few color spots.
The Japanese short-haired Bobtail does not require special care, in fact, brushing once a week is sufficient.
As for the feline moult, the periodic change of the hair is very scarce.
As for the brushing of the Japanese Bobtail with semi-long hair, it must be done much more often since it has a longer hair (at least once a day) knots can occur.
Furthermore, it is a good practice for the hygiene of the cat, it has a positive action on its general health, it stimulates the production of sebum, which makes the coat waterproof and improves blood circulation with a toning effect.
During moulting periods it is preferable to brush the cat every day, to remove the dead coat and any fleas or other parasites of the cat.
Furthermore, the benefits of a correct diet of the Japanese Bobtail should not be underestimated, which directly reflect on the appearance of the animal’s coat and consequently on health.
If you want to know more about common diseases of the Japanese Bobtail, in this article you will find a complete study.
What is the ideal brush for the Japanese Bobtail
For the brushing of the Japanese Bobtail it is necessary to have different accessories for the different grooming phases.
These are the useful accessories for grooming the Japanese Bobtail:
Comb : With well separated and blunt tips, which has the function of untying the knots in the coat;
Rigid brush for cats : Equipped with separate, long, rigid bristles and with the tip protected by pellets. It has the function of brushing the animal thoroughly, without however causing any damage to the cat’s skin;
Soft bristle brush : Equipped with long, soft and dense bristles. It has the function of eliminating dust and any other thing stuck to the hair;
Carder: It is a very useful but also dangerous accessory, you need to know how to use it so as not to injure the cat. It has the function of eliminating unnecessary hair;
Carding glove for cats : Thanks to the combination of plastic-coated teeth with rigid rings, it combines the absolute effectiveness of sanitizing brushing with the real pleasure of a relaxing massage.
Scissors: If you have already located some pretty important knots and all the other methods have failed, you just have to cut them.
When you decide to share your home with a cat, you must keep in mind that in addition to having to feed and cuddle it, you must also take care of the hygiene and well – being of the animal.
It is known to all how much the cat, in general, is an animal very attentive to its hygiene but in spite of this, there are some points that are unattainable for him for which he needs the help of his human friend.
Therefore it will be up to you, with the help of valid accessories and products, to clean the following points :
The cleaning of the eyes is of great help in prevention of both annoying infections such as conjunctivitis and blepharitis in cats;
The ears of the Japanese Bobtail : check periodically to avoid the accumulation of secretions and not to develop infections and skin disorders;
Cleaning and cutting the cat’s nails : shorten the cat’s nails or, better still, contact a specialist or veterinarian;
oral hygiene : clean the teeth of the Japanese Bobtail perhaps daily, using sanitizing creams for teeth or toothbrushes.
For the Japanese Bobtail bath it is important to use products purely for cats and perhaps even a suitable conditioner, to soften the fur and prevent the formation of knots and tangles.
From an early age, the animal must be accustomed to not being afraid of water.
However, it is not necessary to bathe so often but it may be enough once every 4 weeks.
In case of dirt, for a quick cleaning of the cat’s fur and / or for a quick refreshing action, you can resort to the use of special sanitizing wipes.
Having a clean cat at home and stroking a clean, soft, shiny coat is another matter entirely.
