Bella loves Brush!!

When I go to look after cats I'm frequently told "I'll leave the brush out for you - he quite likes a brush now and again." The reality is often quite different though!! Some will just about tolerate it, throwing me a dirty look from time to time, but apart from Enrico (you met him in an earlier post), I've never come across another cat who really loved her Brush quite like Bella does.

Truth be told, when she first came to live with us, we thought we'd try to get her into a good habit. I made the mistake of trying to brush her back, but as she had no idea what it was, she didn't react too well!! So I tried again, gently introducing her to this new friend (I hoped!), and let her sniff it, then rub her face in it. Cats love scratching, so she really enjoyed this, and over a few days, she learnt to love being brushed all over - well almost; to this day she'll only let her tummy be brushed if she's in a really good mood, and don't ever try to touch her back legs.

But it didn't take too long before Brush (as it became known) was her best friend. Pretty much ever since then she expects - no, demands - to be brushed every day, and whenever else she feels like it. I know what her word for Brush sounds like, and she totally knows what Brush is whenever it's said. I sometimes have to spell it out, rather than say it out loud, when talking about it to someone else, much like dog owners have to spell out w-a-l-k-i-e-s, otherwise there she is, demanding again.

It's great for bonding, gets her in a lovely calm mood (until she's had enough, that is!), and is very beneficial for her skin, circulation and coat. Almost like the cat version of a massage - which is what it is, really! But we always need to make sure we do plenty of face brushing first......