Don't know if it's good or not to trim your cat's fur? Then don't try to find answers in Facebook groups or forums. Some cry for pity, and others find clipped cats very funny. There are always heated debates on this topic, each with their own arguments, for and against clipping the cat.
It amuses me that there are gentlemen and ladies who comment on things like: "The cat was left with fur by God... and it must stay that way! Clear!". Or others with a sympathetic sentimentality, say: "You're making fun of the cat! She will feel ashamed of how she looks when she sees herself without fur!". I would suggest that ladies who have such opinions should never get a haircut or epilation in their lives. And for gentlemen, to keep such a "beauty" with bushes next to them. Because no.. that's how it is left by God.
As for the "the cat feels ashamed of how the haircut looks" thing, it is the biggest aberration. That it will feel weird, yes, it's true. But she will be ashamed to the same extent that she is ashamed when she washes herself in front of us and when she is scolded for doing stupid things. I mean not at all. The cat has no self-awareness, does not know the feeling of shame, nor does it recognize itself in the mirror. He won't say to himself in front of the mirror, "mheow... what idiot masters I have... I looked better with long fur".
Subject
Why trim your cat's fur and when should you trim it?
If in the case of dogs, the haircut is more about fashion, to be admired when they are walked on a leash, in cats the haircut is more a necessity of the owners. Most people trim their cats to get rid of hair around the house. Especially during molting, when the cat sheds fur and hair all over the house. I can tell you from experience that a clipped cat leaves almost no hair around the house. What many owners don't know is that the cat hair on the sofa, on clothes, carpet and in all corners of the rooms, comes from a layer of dead hair in the cat's fur. This layer is almost completely removed when the cat is clipped. I've heard people say that getting a haircut doesn't solve much in terms of hair, except that instead of long hairs, we'll have shorter, less visible, and more dangerous hairs. Totally fake. You can trim the cat's fur.
Grooming is also an advantage for the cat. It tolerates the hot summer days much better, becomes active, playful and will no longer laze around all day on the cold tiles, in the bathtub or other cold places around the house. There are advantages on both sides. We get rid of hair around the house, and the cat feels better on warm days. We will not groom cats during the cooler months or towards the end of summer. It is good for the cat's hair to grow enough to keep them warm during the cool autumn months. Most cats only get a haircut once a year, in the spring when the weather starts to warm up. It's no big deal if the cat gets another haircut in June. By mid-September he will have his coat back, almost completely restored.
What must be kept in mind is that if a room is warm for us, it will not necessarily be the same for the cat. We feel the temperature from an equation that also includes air humidity and from which a thermal comfort index results. Cats are much less sensitive to air humidity. If in a room we have 26˚C, and we feel good at a suitable humidity, clipped cats might be a little cold. Besides, we wouldn't feel hot at 26˚C with low humidity either. The temperature of the human body being 37˚C, we will feel the difference in full. To get a better idea of how these differences feel based on humidity, make a room 26˚C, fill the tub with 26˚C water, and get in it. You will feel much colder in the tub than in the room. Separated both media have the same temperature.
Returning to cats, the difference is even greater. The cat's normal body temperature is 38˚-39˚C. For this reason, they will tolerate a higher temperature much better than us.
I wrote the above from experience with my own cats. Especially with Soricel, a 14-year-old cat (2009), who until the age of 7 did not know what a haircut was. I didn't know what it was like to have no hair around the house, and she didn't know that she could play and be active in the summer either.
I admit that after every haircut I get a laugh/cry feeling when I see how she looks. 🤣 I need 2-3 days to start getting used to the new look of the cat.
Where do you groom your cat, at the veterinary office or at home?
Can you trim your cat's fur at home? It is best for the cat to be trimmed in a veterinary office, where there is a qualified staff more on the medical side than on the fashion side. But even there you have to be very careful and find out beforehand how this operation is done, which can often be complicated and stressful for the feline. I admit that I would never have clipped the cats if they were stressed by this operation or had to be sedated. I met a gentleman veterinarian who said from the start that I would have to sign before the haircut, because he anesthetizes the cat and puts it to sleep during the haircut. Even though she hadn't even seen the cat and I hadn't gotten to tell her that she was a docile cat that had never bitten or scratched anyone in her life. Excluded from accepting such a thing. In this scenario, it is better not to groom the cat.
However, it is the right of each doctor to choose the method, as it is the right of each cat owner not to accept.
The last time I went with Soricel to get a haircut, the doctor and the nurse asked us: "Is it okay? Have you cut it before?". They breathed a sigh of relief when I told them it was very nice, continuing with "Yesterday we had a beast...", showing us the scratches on our arms.
If you have an aggressive cat or one that gets very stressed and scared, it's good not to torture it with the haircut. Sedatives are not a solution, and the fact that the owner's signature is required beforehand is because in some (rare) cases, they never wake up. Keep in mind that before the advantages of trimming, there are the mental and physical health of the cat.
the hair all over the house is already annoying me too, it leaves more hair, especially when I give it a good beating
in the summer I will definitely cut it, but not at the vet, at home alone