Grooming my increasingly evil moggy

[annavc]

My cat, Sam, seems to be having a personality change at the moment. He used to love being brushed (he's long haired) and would go mental when he saw the brush. This has changed for no apparent reason and although he still goes nuts when he sees the brush and is ok for the first few strokes of it he then gets arsey and tries to scratch and bite me. Any ideas of how to get him to like it again would be much appreciated! There is certainly no medical reason for it and his coat is not tangled so I'm not hurting him. My poor skin would appreciate a solution! Thanks.

[VillageVicar]

You may wish to change brushes. I've recently had something similar with our Jack Russell, Mr. Piddles.
He would flip crazy over the prospects of being brushed. However a few months ago, he either refused to jump in our laps when he saw the brush, or would squirm and jump down when my daughter was brushing him. I bought a new brush, one with tempered bristles (like little balls), and almost instantly, he was back on form...and still is...

Moggy may be saying the same thing to you...but then it's a flippin cat, and NO ONE ever knows what evil lurks in their minds! :-) just kidding on the evil bit....kind of

Fr Bill

[annavc]

Thanks VillageVicar, I might try that. Either that or improve my iron-like grip! Definitely evil lurking in his mind - must be what's behind his new habit of hurtling round the house and pouncing on my head at 3am every morning!

[VillageVicar]

Yep! As I said�.pure evil! :-)

Fr Bill

[frankiecat]

I, personally, prefer a massage to a groom. But then I am really smooth haired.

Princess Merlin likes being groomed but then she's a girl. I have seen some sort of comb with different sized teeth being used and that seems to be to her liking. She has long hair. She really likes getting her neck and head combed and our slave has to keep going back to that area to keep Merlin still - she paces when getting groomed.

Merlin bites and scratches and I find it so unladylike, but Sam is a boy so it is okay for him to do this.

Frankie

[plowter]

Have you asked your cat how he likes to be brushed? Do you decide he needs brushed or do you wait for him to ask? Is there an area of the house in which he feels comfortable and likes to get brushed?

Brushing is a very tactile way for humans to reinforce friendhship. It's the human version of rubbing or scratching.

Maybe he's just p*ssed off because you're not doing it right, to his way of thinking. Treat him gently like a kitten or like a new cat and find out what he likes.

Some male cats just won't accept their rear ends being brushed (it's a territorial thing), some love it (sometimes too much to be healthy!).

If there's a part of his body he doesn't like you going near, such as his head, he may have a problem like ear mites

It took me ages to work out my cat. He used to beg for something but it wasn't clear what he wanted. Turns out he gets constipated and wanted brushing and stroking because he felt so crap.

Who said cats were easy to keep?

[annavc]

Thanks everyone. I might try a different brish although he's always liked the current one in the past.