We purchased a Maine Coon back in September, and I posted a question then regarding bathing her. I read your responses and came up with a routine. Here is what our routine is: I slather her with Goop hand cleaner, suds that up and rinse. Then I use Dawn dish washing soap, suds that up and rinse... and rinse.... and rinse. Then I blow dry her. She looks absolutely beautiful afterwards, but it doesn't last long. After about 4-5 days she starts getting REALLY greasy again. Am I doing something wrong? Does anyone have some suggestions that would keep her looking nice longer. She is such a beautiful animal, but the bathing process is rather lengthy. At this rate, I have to bathe her every 2 weeks, sometimes sooner. Any advice you can give would really be appreciated. Plus, if you have any specific products in mind, please let me know where I can buy them. Thanks a million!

-- Anonymous, August 10, 1999

Answers

The first thing that comes to mind is that perhaps you aren't rinsing enough? It does take a very very long time to get them squeaky clean. How old is your cat? Is she spayed? That will affect the coat condition. For a great article on grooming, try Laura Cunningham's home page (see the breeder listings) and check out her grooming article on her show kittens page. Also, contact me privately at this email address and we can talk more about specific shampoos.

-- Anonymous, August 11, 1999

Instead of washing the cat every 2 weeks (which imho is far too often for a cat, let alone a dog) I would try sprinkling unscented talcum powder onto the cat, working it in and then brushing it out. This will remove some excess oil and makes it easier to remove tangles.

The grease may be coming from hand lotion/oil from your hands so you might want to wash them before handling the cat? (Yeah, that sound strange doesn't it?) Also, Maine coon fur definitely feels alot different (waxier) than other cat fur which may be related to their allegedly water resistant coat.

Ed

-- Anonymous, August 11, 1999

Firstly, you didn't mention if this is an altered or whole female. If the latter, you may expect her to be naturally a little "greaser" than in an alter. I'd agree with one of the other respondents that bathing her every 2 weeks is probably not a good idea. It may well promote more "grease" than if you left her alone to do more of her own grooming. Instead of using talcuum powder or similar substances, you could try using a product called Foo Foo which is actually a dog grooming powder used quite a bit by cat breeders/exhibitors at shows. You put some of the Foo Foo onto the worst area and then BLOW it all out again....don't brush it out. You need lots of breath and will get dizzy from all the blowing, believe me, so have a chair handy!! Basically, though, I would tend to leave her alone to look after her own grooming, plus use a little Foo Foo on the worst bits from time to time.

-- Anonymous, August 14, 1999