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Sanitary trims, baths and nails
The bath question
Healthy cats are self-washing animals. With a good portion of the day going to grooming, plus your daily brushing keeping the coat clean and sleek, a healthy cat may not need a bath at all. The exceptions are real but occasional: something on the coat the cat should not lick off, a mess the cat cannot reach or manage, or a medical wash your vet has specifically prescribed. Those cases share one feature - they are one-offs with a reason, not a schedule. If the mess is beyond a damp cloth on a small spot, the sensible next call is your vet or a reputable groomer, not a full home spa day with products chosen by guesswork.
Sanitary trims
A sanitary trim is a small, practical haircut: the long fur around the hindquarters and tail base trimmed shorter so litter-box visits stay clean. For long-haired cats who regularly soil their own trousers, it is a kindness - and it belongs on the professional list. Cornell's hairball guidance already points owners to the veterinarian or a reputable groomer for a haircut once or twice a year for cats who will not tolerate brushing, and notes the approach is especially effective in long-haired breeds; a sanitary trim is the same errand, smaller. Clippers near wriggling skin on a cat who objects is not a first home project.
Nails
Nail care is the least glamorous item on this page and the one Cornell is most practical about: regularly trimming your cat's nails reduces the likelihood of damage from sharp claws and lessens the chance of a nail growing into the foot pad and causing infection. Their instruction for technique is refreshingly direct - ask your veterinarian for a lesson on how to clip nails. One demonstration at a routine visit, and it becomes a two-minute home task.
Products and home remedies
The product aisle is where good intentions get expensive and occasionally dangerous. Cornell's hairball guidance includes a warning worth memorizing: never give your cat a laxative - and that includes petroleum-based hairball remedies - without the approval and supervision of a veterinarian, and the same applies to commercial diets claiming to fix the problem. If hairballs are frequent enough that you are shopping for remedies, that frequency is itself the information: bring it to your vet. The shedding guide covers what normal hairball frequency looks like, and the planner builds the prevention routine that keeps remedies unnecessary.