By Lucy Hine

Grooming your pet can certainly be a drama, particularly if your cat or dog wasn't trained or handled very often when they were younger.

Understanding your pet's needs regarding hygiene and cleanliness is the first step to ensure your pet remains healthy and happy.

Cat owners often watch with wonder at how thoroughly their cat cleans itself. In fact, cats spend over 10 percent of their mornings grooming and this usually involves licking their fur and getting dirt out from between their toes. Although cats like to groom themselves, they definitely benefit from their owner's help, just like our canine friends.
The best way to assist your cat or dog in grooming itself is through brushing and nail cutting. A daily brush of your cat or dog's fur will help keep it shiny and tangle-free and will also enable you to check your pet's entire body — ears, eyes, mouth, skin and genital regions — for health problems.

It's best to begin brushing your cat or dog when it's a small kitten or puppy so it gets used to it. Sometimes there are instances where your pet doesn't like being touched or it takes them a while until they can handle physical contact. Regular brushing helps reduce this behaviour.

However, most cats and dogs enjoy a gentle brushing and this helps build a bond between pet and owner.

Nail cutting is also very important and should be started as early as possible so your pet tolerates the experience easily. A food reward after the cutting is a good idea and make sure you keep each session short, perhaps only doing one paw at a time to begin with. Your pet's nails should be cut once a month.

To clip your cat or dog's nails, take one paw at a time and press under the pad so that the nail is exposed. Cut the nail tip using a good quality nail trimmer that can be purchased from pet stores, and stay away from the sensitive pink vein because it will hurt your pet or bleed if you cut into it. If your pet has black nails, a small white dot can be seen at the tip of the nail as the clip approaches the vein, which indicates that the nail is at its shortest length.

Ask your vet for a demonstration if this is your first time cutting your pet's nails.

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