Fur Real, Karen, Put Down the Drugstore Pet Shampoo. Yes, natural grooming for long-haired cats is possible. So, your long-haired cat looks like a majestic woodland creature one day and a smelly dust bunny with legs the next. You’re googling “How to help my cat’s fur be shiny,” and “How to bathe a cat without dying,” and of course “Natural cat shampoos that won’t kill my feline.” There is so much info out there on the internet when it comes to natural grooming for long-haired cats; what is the loving cat mom to do?
Info on natural grooming for long-haired cats is not easy to find. Chewy, Amazon and all those big box stores want you to buy kitty-cat dry shampoos. Yes, this is the easiest option for your feline. However, those shiny bottles full of cucumber-smelling goodness are chock-full of phenol, parabens, Permethrin, dyes, Formaldehyde and other ingredients you can’t pronounce. Do you really want your kitty cat licking Benzaldehyde out of their fur? Your little kitty cat will be as methed out and wired as a racehorse running at Aqueduct! Check out these easy and organic cat grooming tips at home without poisoning your feline.
You know those cute little cat shampoos you bought at that big box pet store? The ones with “lavender & sparkle essence” and a photo of a suspiciously relaxed kitten on the bottle? BURN THEM.
Not literally, that’s a fire hazard. Just throw them out. Toss ‘em in the trash like a Tinder date who still lives with his mom. Natural grooming for long-haired cats means just that. No chemicals. No alcohol (I mean
until you finish cat bath time and uncork that wine). Check out these easy cat grooming tips at home.
Your cat, unlike you, doesn’t just rinse and move on. Oh no. Cats are nature’s OCD germaphobes — they LICK themselves clean. Every. Inch. If you lather up Mr. Fluffington with some sketchy chemical cocktail labeled “Tropical Thunder Mango Kitty Wash,” guess what? They’re ingesting that junk. Suddenly, your cat’s beauty routine has turned into a slow-motion toxic slip-n-slide.
Sure, most cats do not need to be bathed, especially shorthaired cats.. Most cats love cleaning themselves. Some are actually OCD about it. But long-haired cats can be a different story. Their fur can start to look greasy, stringy and just all over stinky. And long-haired cats NEED brushing. Like, every day. Like, more than you brush your own hair. That is the first tip when it comes to natural grooming for long-haired cats.
Add Omega-3s to Their Food — Yes, Your Cat is Now on Supplements
Your cat is going to get so ripped! Just kidding, but at least he will smell better! Two cat-friendly supplements you should buy today are liquid fish oil and coconut oil. So how do I force-feed my 25 pound Norwegian Forest Cat a fish oil pill? Well, you don’t. Add just a tiny amount of the liquid version to their dry food. Toss it in like salad dressing. Not only will they love it but these nutrients are so good for your fluffy pet’s coat. Expect a shiny coat, reduced shedding, less dandruff — basically the feline version of a collagen smoothie.
Start small when adding healthy oils to your feline’s diet. Veterinarians say start with 1/8 teaspoon per cat per day, and you can up that to 1/4 teaspoon. Coconut oil can also help long-haired cats who have an issue with hairballs. You can use this Omni Calculator to determine how much healthful oil your pet needs based on weight. Caution: Start slow. Otherwise, you’ll go from “beauty boost” to “explosive diarrhea” in 2.5 hours.
Bathe Without a Bloodbath — It Is Possible
Here’s how to bathe a cat without looking like you fought a rose bush and lost:
- Use a damp washcloth, not a full soak. Cats hate water more than influencers hate bad lighting. Wipe them down gently with warm water.
- Avoid the face. Your cat will remember.
- Wrap them like a burrito in a towel first — it’s called the “purrito” technique and it’s basically cat therapy.
- Talk to them sweetly the whole time. You’re lying to them, yes, but it’s for their own good.
Optional: Wear chainmail.
Reward them after bath time with a treat, a toy, SO MUCH CAT NIP or their favorite napping spot — preferably NOT your pillow, because they will plot revenge.
Things to Avoid Like Catnip on Leg Day
- Essential oils (most are TOXIC to cats — lavender, eucalyptus, tea tree = NOPE)
- Human shampoo (Even baby shampoo. Even the tear-free kind. Your cat isn’t a baby. It’s a tiny murder machine.)
- Overbathing — cats clean themselves 24/7. Baths are for emergencies, poop incidents, or Instagram content.
- Those “Pet-friendly” wipes. Those are also chock-full of chemicals. Chuck them out. They are not good for your furry friend.
Meet Leo; 25 pounds of fluff and sass
Leo, our Norwegian Forest Cat, is the most spastic feline ever. Yes, when he was an adorable two-pound kitten, I was able to easily give him a bath. Especially when he had ringworm after coming home from the shelter as a kitten and we had to give him oatmeal baths to soothe his sensitive baby skin. But now that he is a twenty-five-pound beast of a cat? Do I want to end up at the ER with my eyeballs gouged out? My Norwegian Forest Ca
t may love me but not when I throw him in the bathtub.
When I was a kid, we used to bathe our cats all the time. Why did we do this? Well, probably because it was the 90s, kids didn’t have smartphones and what else was there to do as a fun family event on a Friday evening? Sometimes I wonder how I ever survived my childhood. At least without more scars.
We all love our pets. Here in 2025, Amazon lets us spend so much of our paycheck on their health and happiness. And that is fantastic! This is not 1995 and we are not bathing Fluffy with a bar of Irish Spring soap. This could be a true story.
Beer me?
According to my old friend the internet, giving your long-haired cat a beer bath is the way to have a feline with fantastic fur. Go home, Google. You are drunk. Beer. Yes beer. No, this is not an April Fool’s prank. Just trying to bathe this 25-pound bundle of joy, furry and fur is a cat-astrophe ready to happen. Maybe I should be the one having a beer!
Dahlia, AKA Scooter
One thing with these majestic Norwegian Forest Cats, they are the most pleasant, cuddly and happy cats to be around. However, yes, they get chunky as they get older. And yes, that sometimes leads to these cuddly felines not being able to clean themselves properly as they get older. Especially their nether regions. That could be why we sometimes affectionately call Dahlia, our senior Forest Cat, Scooter. Sometimes, there can be a trail from Scooter on our tile floors when she is having a rough morning of being a senior overweight long-haired cat. When it comes to natural grooming for long-haired cats, sometimes you just have to pull out the pet trimmer and clean up their furry behinds a bit. (We call this putting Dahlia’s sweatpants on, because she truly looks like she is wearing sweatpants when we are done.
We started trimming Leo’s sweatpants at the same time, just because, hey, we
have the trimmers out and it makes life easier for him if he’s able to easily clean himself. I do highly recommend, if you have pet shavers, trimming up your cat’s nether regions if you are interested in natural grooming for long-haired cats. What you need to know is that this is a two-person job. One person to hold the cat and whisper sweet nothings in their furry ears and one person to do the fun part, the butt hair cut. Yes, even with frequent brushings, our Norwegian Forest Cats still tend to get clumps on their upper rumps (It must be a spot they just can’t reach when grooming). So we do this Forest Cat grooming situation about once a month to remove any random fur clumps at the same time.
Spa day for your cat checklist
- Cat grooming tips at home start with a good, high-quality brush that does not hurt your fluffy friend.
- Revitalizing mist for coats with natural ingredients, like Ikaria Brand.
- Catnip, like a pound of it.
- Favorite treats. Because who was a good boy?
Who is a good boy? - Band-Aids (These might be for you)
I hope these cat grooming tips at home helped you come up with a beauty plan for your long-haired cat that is just a bit more organic and safe for them. Your long-haired cat can have fur so soft it makes grown men cry, without chemicals, trauma, or looking like you just did 10 rounds with Wolverine. Just brush regularly, feed quality food, skip the sketchy shampoo aisle, and remember: bathing a cat is less about cleaning them and more about surviving.
Also, maybe buy wine. For post-grooming recovery.
