Grooming your cat should be a regular and easy activity. It is necessary for the health and well-being of your cat, particularly if it is a long haired cat, and is also a valuable way of bonding with your cat or prepping it for a show.

While cats are famous for washing themselves, they often need a little help. This is particularly true if they have longer coats, as regular grooming will remove loose hairs and ensure your cat doesn't get hairballs. Hairballs are bad for your cats health, and are also very unpleasant for the cat owner when they are coughed up on the rug. Long haired cats can also end up with matted fur if they are not groomed regularly, which is both unattractive and dangerous for the cat's health. Grooming is particularly necessary for cats with unusual fur or face shapes, such as the flat faces of Persians, as often they are not equipped to clean themselves enough to stay healthy and are otherwise prone to eye and nose infections. http://www.vet.cornell.edu/FHC/news/hair.htmhttp://ezinearticles.com/?Persian-Cats---Health-Issues&id=2411242

Grooming consists mainly of regular brushing or combing the hair of the cat. This not only smooths out the coat, it also stimulates the skin and muscles. Long haired cats will need to be brushed once per day, while short haired cats will benefit from once weekly sessions. Occasionally your cat will also need a bath, have her nails clipped, or her teeth brushed. Establishing the habit of regular grooming should be done when the cat is young.http://www.aspca.org/pet-care/cat-care/groom-your-cat.html

Your cat should be taught to enjoy the attention of grooming while he or she is a kitten, as this will make her much easier to handle as an adult cat. However, even adult cats can be trained to enjoy grooming, including tooth brushing.

Always start slowly, with short, regular grooming sessions. Try to keep the grooming under 10 minutes at first, and have them every day, or at least several times a week whether or not your cat will eventually need them this regularly. Try not to frighten the cat, and speak to her quietly and soothingly. Pet her a lot, and allow her to sniff the brush or comb you are planning to use. Then, alternative stroking with the brush, gently at first and then firmer. If your cat doesn't like sitting on your lap, try this while she is eating. Remember to give her treats to ensure she has good associations with grooming.

Cats should also be taught to enjoy, or at least to happily endure having their teeth brushed from a young age. This is essential to ensure long term tooth health. Ease your cat into tooth brushing by getting her used to you stroking your fingers around her mouth. Gradually apply (a little) more pressure until you are rubbing your finger on her teeth and gums. It helps at this point to have some meat juice or catnip rubbed on your finger. Eventually switch to the cat toothpaste, and then to the toothbrush (you can get brushes that sit on your finger).

When grooming your cat you should start by combing out its hair with a metal comb. You might want to start with the belly and legs on a long haired cat, so that you aren't trying to pull the comb through too much hair at once. Be extra gentle around the legs and stomach area. This is a good time to check whether your cat has skin parasites such as ticks or fleas, or other skin problems such as ringworm.

Next, use a bristle brush to sleek the hair and remove dead skin and loose hairs. If your long haired cat has matted parts, try to tease them out with the comb then the brush. If they are particularly stubborn, you'll have to cut them off, being very careful not to cut too close to the skin.

This is also a good time to check your cat's ears. Check for any kind of swelling, redness or broken skin, and if you see something suspicious, take her to the vet. If you want to more throughly cleanse your cat's ears, you'll need a solution from the vet. Follow the directions on the bottle. This is also a good point to wipe the cat's face very gently with a damp cloth to take off any eye or nose discharge.

If your cat gets into something sticky or smelly, or her coat begins to get too oily, you will need to bath her.

First, however, make sure you have clipped her nails. Clipping nails is easy, but you have to be very careful not to cut into the quick, which will bleed. If your cat's nails are clear or white, it should be easy to see where the quick (the darker portion of the nail) starts and clip above it using cat nail clippers. If the cat's nails are dark, clip at the very tip of the nail, or ask your vet to clip them when you bring her in for a checkup.

If you need to give your cat a bath, it will help to have another person there to hold her. Place a mat or towel at the bottom of the sink and run some warm water into it. Holding your cat firmly, place her into the sink then gently ladle the water over her to dampen her skin. Then, still holding her firmly, put some cat shampoo onto her and lather it (following the directions on the bottle), carefully avoiding her eyes and face. Try to have someone keep a firm hold on her the whole time. Often she will struggle less if she doesn't feel like she has a chance of escaping. Thoroughly wash out the shampoo. This is important, as your cat will groom herself later and may swallow the shampoo if it is not removed from her fur. Then dry your cat with a towel, and if she is a long haired cat, use a hair dryer.