Preventative Care at Home: How Regular Grooming Supports Your Cat's Health

At Waggel, we believe that modern pet care goes far beyond reacting to illness. True welfare starts earlier, at home, with everyday habits that protect your pet’s physical and emotional well-being.

One of the most overlooked (yet powerful) forms of preventative care for cats is regular, thoughtful grooming. When done correctly, grooming doesn’t just improve how your cat looks; it plays a critical role in fulfilling your duty of care, spotting health issues early, and reducing the likelihood of expensive veterinary treatments later on.

That’s why we’re partnering with professional cat grooming specialists Kuba & Leia, whose gentle, cat-first approach and BrushPod product align perfectly with our compassionate insurance philosophy.

When you brush your cat, you're doing more than removing loose fur. Each stroke distributes natural oils from the skin throughout the coat, maintaining the water-resistant barrier that keeps skin healthy. Brushing also stimulates blood circulation to the skin, supporting cell renewal and coat condition.

While cats are excellent self-groomers, spending up to 30% of their waking hours on coat maintenance, they can't reach everywhere effectively. The base of the tail, behind the ears, and under the chin are common trouble spots where dead hair and skin cells accumulate without human help.
Cats are also experts at hiding discomfort. Many health problems develop quietly long before symptoms become obvious enough to require urgent veterinary care.

Regular grooming sessions create valuable, repeated opportunities to:

• Check skin condition and coat health

• Notice new lumps, bumps or wounds early

• Identify parasites such as fleas before infestations worsen

• Prevent matting that can lead to pain, skin infections and restricted movement

From an insurance and welfare standpoint, early detection is everything. Addressing minor issues early is not only better for your cat, it often prevents claims related to advanced, treatable conditions.

As a cat owner, your duty of care isn’t just about providing food and shelter. It includes proactive steps to maintain comfort, hygiene and health.

For example, senior cats face a particular challenge. As arthritis develops and spinal flexibility decreases, many older cats simply cannot reach their hindquarters, belly, or lower back to groom effectively. The result is often matting, greasy coat texture, and dandruff in areas they once kept immaculate.

Regular brushing becomes essential welfare support for ageing cats. It's worth increasing grooming frequency as your cat enters their senior years, even if they managed perfectly well when younger.

Regular grooming supports this duty by:

• Preventing painful matting, particularly in long-haired cats

• Reducing the risk of skin infections and inflammation

• Supporting mobility in senior cats who struggle to self-groom

• Maintaining claw health to prevent overgrowth and injury

At Waggel, we see grooming as part of responsible guardianship, the kind that reduces stress for both pet and owner and supports long-term well-being.

Unlike dogs, many cats find grooming environments stressful. Poor handling or rushed sessions can increase anxiety, which itself can trigger or worsen health issues, including urinary problems and behavioural concerns.

The key is building positive associations gradually. Short sessions that end before your cat becomes irritated. Treats and praise throughout. Respecting the areas your cat finds sensitive. Over time, most cats learn to tolerate and even enjoy grooming, but pushing too hard too fast can create lasting resistance.

Tools matter here, too. Gentle brushes with plush bristles cause less discomfort than harsh wire slickers. Soft-touch nail clippers designed for cats reduce the stress of claw trimming. Some cats respond well to catnip or matatabi applied to grooming tools, creating a positive sensory association with the experience.

Many conditions that result in vet visits and insurance claims are preventable or detectable through regular grooming:

Matting can cause skin infections, restricted movement, and genuine pain. Severe mats sometimes require veterinary sedation to be removed safely.

Hairballs form when cats ingest loose fur during self-grooming. Regular brushing removes that fur before it's swallowed, reducing hairball frequency and the digestive discomfort that accompanies them.

Overgrown claws can curl into paw pads, causing infection and mobility problems. Regular checks during grooming sessions catch overgrowth before it becomes painful.

Parasites hide effectively in fur. Grooming sessions are often when owners first notice flea dirt, ticks, or the patchy hair loss that suggests ringworm.

At Waggel, we believe pet insurance should support proactive, compassionate care - not just emergencies.

The right tools for the job

The right equipment makes a genuine difference to grooming success. Kuba & Leia's BrushPod combines four essentials into one kit: a premium brush with plush bristles designed for comfortable sessions, soft-touch claw clippers for gentle trimming, a catnip and matatabi blend to create positive associations with grooming time, and a 3-in-1 tool featuring UV light for detecting hidden urine marking (useful for identifying stress-related house soiling before it becomes a bigger problem).

Partnering with professionals like Kuba & Leia allows us to champion a broader understanding of welfare, where education, prevention and emotional wellbeing all play a role.

Consistency matters more than duration. Five minutes every few days is more effective than an hour-long session once a month, and far less stressful for your cat.
Short-haired cats typically need brushing once or twice weekly. Medium-haired cats benefit from two to three sessions. Long-haired breeds may need daily attention, particularly during seasonal shedding periods.

The goal isn't perfection. Missing a session occasionally won't cause problems. But regular, gentle grooming, built into your weekly routine, supports your cat's health in ways that compound over time: healthier skin, fewer hairballs, earlier detection of problems, and a cat who's comfortable being handled when veterinary examination becomes necessary.

That’s the kind of care Waggel exists to protect.