VCA Animal Hospitals

How to Groom a Cat- Bathing & Brushing

The general condition of your cat's skin and coat are good indicators of its health. A healthy coat should be shiny and smooth and healthy skin should be supple and clear. Although health and nutrition influence the luster and texture of your cat's coat, regular grooming and skin care will help keep your cat's coat clean and free of tangles, no matter what type of hair coat he or she has.

All cats benefit from regular brushing to remove loose hairs and dead skin cells. Brushing helps keep the coat free of dirt, debris, and to distribute natural skin oils along the hair shafts. Cats with long coats require daily brushing to keep their hair from becoming tangled or matted. Cats with short hair coats may require less frequent brushing.

Grooming a cat daily will cut down on the amount of hair that a cat swallows during the course of self- grooming with its tongue, thus helping to reduce the number of hairballs your cat may develop. In addition to benefitting your cat, daily brushing will cut down dramatically on the amount of loose hair and pet dander floating around the home.

common cat behaviors cat grooming

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General Practice

We have over 540 animal hospitals in 41 states that are staffed by more than 2,000 fully qualified, dedicated and compassionate veterinarians, with more than 200 being board-certified specialists. The nationwide VCA family of general practice hospitals give your pet the very best in medical care, providing a full range of general medical and surgical services as well as specialized treatments*: Wellness, Spay/neuter, Advanced diagnostic services (MRI/CT Scan), Internal medicine, Oncology, Ophthalmology, Dermatology, Cardiology, Neurology, Boarding, Grooming

*services may vary by location.

Our family of pet hospitals stands out by delivering the greatest resources in order provide the highest quality care available for your pets. By maintaining the highest standards of pet health care available anywhere, we emphasize prevention as well as healing. We provide continuing education programs to our doctors and staff and promote the open exchange of professional knowledge and expertise. And finally, we have established a consistent program of procedures and techniques, proven to be the most effective in keeping pets healthy.

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Specialty Care

Sometimes sick or injured pets need the care of a veterinary medical specialist. When that happens, VCA specialty hospitals work closely with the general practitioner veterinarians who refer cases to us in order to provide seamless veterinary care to your pet. When your pet is facing any kind of serious illness or injury, our specialty referral hospitals will provide the compassionate and expert care your beloved pet needs.

Our goal is to make sure that when you and your pet are in need that you have access to board certified specialists who are up to date on the very latest developments in their field. In our state of the art hospitals, our specialists also have access to the most sophisticated diagnostic and treatment tools and techniques from ultrasonography and endoscopy to CAT scans and even MRI.

We have twenty-eight specialty hospitals across the US so there may be one near you. Our specialized services include: cardiology, critical care, dentistry, dermatology, internal medicine, neurology, oncology, ophthalmology, radiology and surgery.

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Emergency Care

In case of emergency, please call us immediately. If it is after hours, check with a local animal hospital emergency clinic.

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