Grooming Your Manx Cat

 

BRUSHING AND COMBING
Manx coats come in two lengths, the shorthair that is the more familiar coat to most people, and the longhair.  Longhair Manx are still Manx, and the only difference in the standard is the coat length.  Both coats are "double" which means there's a heavy undercoat paired with the outer coat.  The outer coat of the longhair is where the length is.

A Manx does not require daily brushing or combing, although they enjoy that activity, and will adore you if you do spend some time every day gently brushing the coat.  Even the longhair does not need daily brushing and combing.  This is not a Persian or even a Maine Coon coat.  Generally speaking, your Manx's coat will not mat significantly.  You may find a mat or two between the hind legs, or possibly in the "armpits" but by and large, unless the cat spends the majority of its time lying down, they won't mat.  Spring is shedding season, and that is the time you will need to put more effort into brushing and combing.  Shedding out some of the undercoat could produce a situation where the shed hair will "felt" if the cat lies around too much.

BATHING YOUR MANX
In general, if you bathe your cat every couple of weeks or so, this will remove loose hair and keep your cat clean.  It is a fallacy that "cats groom themselves and don't need bathing."  Bathing to remove loose hair will keep down the instance of hair balls - these little surprises are not fun to step on with bare feet in the middle of the night.  Ordinary shampoo and water will also kill any fleas your cat might harbor.  He/she shouldn't go outside, but YOU do, and bring fleas in on your shoes.

If you have a show cat, you will need to go in for more frequent bathing.  Your cat should have a bath before every show, as well as having his/her claws clipped, ears cleaned out, and eyes properly tended to.  The secrets to a good bath are:
   (1) Use the right shampoo.  The coat should be de-greased, which means using a soft brush to scrub the de-greasing shampoo right down to the skin.  You should purchase a product that is specifically designed to de-grease the coat.  Pay special attention to the areas behind the ears, under the chin and on the throat and chest, down the spine, and the backs of the hind legs.   Once you've thoroughly scrubbed the shampoo in, you will rinse it out.
   (2) Rinsing out the shampoo.  It is every bit as important to get all the shampoo out of the coat as it is to scrub it in.  You should rinse that coat until you can feel it squeak when you rub your fingers over it.
   (3) Shampoo a second time.  If you have a cat with white on it, you will want to use a shampoo formulated to brighten that white.  It will enhance whatever color is there, as well, so don't worry about stripping the color - a white-brightening shampoo will not do that.  Be certain that the white-brightening shampoo is left on the coat long enough to do what it was designed to do - make the white sparkle!
   (4) Rinse out the shampoo.  Again, rinse thoroughly, to get every bit of the shampoo residue out of the coat.  If you don't have one, you should have a shower attachment with a hose, so that you can get the water right to the coat.  Dipping and pouring are not only awkward, they are not the best way to thoroughly rinse.
   (5) A nice finishing touch to complete the removal of any stray grease is to use a product formulated for humans to clean oil from the face.  Rub some of that into the areas behind the ears, under the chin and on the neck, and down the spine.  Then, (yes, that's right) RINSE some more.
   (6) Blowing the coat dry.  If you have a shorthair cat, this is optional, unless you are showing your cat.  Then, you do want to blow the coat dry.  Brushing against the growth, use a dryer to completely get all the dampness out of the coat.  If you have a longhair cat - blow-drying is absolutely the ONLY way to finish that coat beautifully.  You must dry the coat COMPLETELY, or you will end up with waves and "crinkles" which are not attractive for your show cat.  This DOES include the belly hair.  Some cats do resist this process.  You should start the cat out as a kitten, before you intend to go showing, to get them used to the blow dryer.  I have found that if I turn on the dryer while I'm holding the cat wrapped up in the drying towel, then move slowly to expose parts of the cat to the air, this will acclimate the cat to the noise and the feel.  A professional dryer is, naturally, the best way to go, but a good "people" dryer and a stand to hold it upright will do the job nicely as well.  Unless you have an assistant, you will want to get some kind of device to hold the dryer and will allow you to "aim" it at the cat.  An inexpensive one can be made from PVC piping bolted to a flat piece of material, and then a clamp affixed to the top that will allow the barrel of the dryer to be clasped and held steady.

POWDERING AND SO ON
If you bathe as close to the time/day of the show as possible, you will not need to do too much other work with any kind of products.  You should purchase some quality translucent grooming powder, or you can use baby powder and achieve much the same effect.  Powder is used to dry up any oil that appears at the base of the coat.  You should not need too much, if you've done a good job with your bathing.  A soft make-up brush will let you apply powder right behind the ears, under the chin and on the throat.  The areas that will tend to get a little oily as the show progresses are those, plus down the spine, and at the backs of the hind legs.  If, when you cat stands up, you can see the coat "spike" along the back and on the chest, then your bathing techniques need some work.  Powder will NOT de-grease a coat that has not been properly bathed.  If it's a 2-day show, you will want to do more bathing in your hotel room on Saturday night.

You should have a soft-bristle grooming brush, a comb with both coarse and fine teeth (same comb or 2 different ones are equally handy).  You should have a pair of cat claw clipper scissors (DO NOT USE a people nail clipper - this crushes the claw and does not cut cleanly).  You may need a pair of thinning shears (with the jagged teeth) to trim the hair around the anal opening.  DO NOT CUT the hair, but thin it out.  You want the hair to lie close to the curve of the cat's rear.  Do not trim out your cat's ears.  The "furnishings" or hair in the ear are natural, and should be left so.  Manx are a "Natural" breed, and over-grooming will detract from your cat's natural beauty.

It is always a good idea to have some kind of waterless shampoo with you, in case of litter box accidents.  You do NOT want to show a dirty, smelly cat.  Waterless shampoo, combined with powder, will let you temporarily clean off anywhere that gets messy.