Cats are pretentious in general, but when it comes to Persian cats, you can hardly find a breed that requires more attention and specialized care. On the other hand, successful care for a Persian cat almost always produces an excellent, beautiful animal that makes a wonderful companion for you and impresses your guests.
One of the most important things about Persian cat grooming is taking proper care of the fur – you’ll have to get used to combing it daily or else it’ll lose its luster very quickly. As uncomfortable as this may sound for your schedule, it’s actually a relaxing and pleasing process once you’ve gotten the hang of it.
Your daily care and grooming for your Persian cat should also include brushing – but be very gentle with this and always go with the direction of the fur, carefully removing any loose hairs but preserving the fur in general. Never apply too much force or you risk ripping out pieces of the cat’s fur!
Thankfully, grooming your Persian cat doesn’t require bathing it every day – you should do it fairly frequently though, around once every two weeks is usually an acceptable rate. Be very diligent in the cat’s bathing, always make sure you wash all the areas carefully and dry it up for as long as it takes until it’s nice and fluffy. Your cat will eventually get used to the unpleasant baths as well, so it will sooner or later stop being so bothersome for both of you.
On the note of bathing, be extremely careful with your choice of shampoo – the color of the shampoo matters very much, even though most people aren’t aware of that. Persian cats can have a light or dark fur, and there are specialized shampoo types for both available on the market – have a look at the bottle and read the description carefully, as washing a light Persian cat with darkening shampoo – and vice versa – can have a devastating effect on the quality of its fur and completely ruin its naturally beautiful coating.
We mentioned that Persian cat grooming can sometimes get odd due to their high level of pretentiousness, and if you’re not used to using powder and oil on your cat, you’d better start now. Warm oil can be very efficient to help recover and strengthen the fur of your Persian cat, and using it frequently can give it a very nice, well-groomed look.