With all the emphasis on grooming and sculpting a Persian’s face, sometimes the other end of the cat is forgotten. But “sculpting” of the Persian tail should also be part of your show cat’s perfect presentation.
The tail of a Persian with a long coat may appear to be too long and out of balance, hence the hair on the end of the tail may need to be “tipped” or shortened. Ideally, your Persians tail should be short and full. In fact the ideal Persian tail should be as wide as the cat’s body when in full coat.
The Persian Breed Standard
The tail, sometimes referred to as the ‘brush’, is included in the CFA Persian standard under Body Type:
BODY TYPE (including shape, size, bone, and length of tail) … 20 POINTS. TAIL: short, but in proportion to body length. Carried without a curve and at an angle lower than the back.
Evaluating The Persian Cat’s Tail
Evaluating The Persian Cat’s TailTo evaluate your Persian’s tail, ask the following questions:
- Is the tail in proportion to the body?
- Does the tail appear a bit long?
- Are there scraggly hairs?
- Does the tail look thin or full?
- Is the end of the tail pointed? Round? Square?
- Do all the hairs appear clean and degreased? Check especially under the tail, close to the body and check right to the roots.
Combing The Tail
The tail often seems to be the last part on the cat to receive attention. Using a long-toothed, widely spaced medium comb, start on the tail hairs closest to the body and work your way to the tip of the tail. Hold the tip of the tail and comb the hair at a right angle to the tail. Work your way both down the tail and around the tail. Pay special attention to the underside of the tail.
Bathing the Tail
After the tail have been complete combed out, now it is time for the bath.
- Make sure that the degreaser gets right down to the skin of the tail.
- Use a toothbrush to work the shampoos into the skin and roots of the hairs.
- Check to see if your cat has ‘stud tail’. Stud Tail appears as an area on the skin about 1-2 inches long that has a concentration of black heads or a greasy-brown discoloration on the skin on the top of the tail. It is often about 2-3 inches down the the tail from where it meets the body. Although this is especially a concern with mature males, stud tail can occur on both sexes, altered or unaltered.
- Rinse, rinse, rinse.
- More information is available by reading our articles titled Stud Tail In A Cat and Chin Acne and Stud Tail Remedy.
Drying The Tail
- Use the dryer to blow the hairs against the direction of their growth. This will help you achieve maximum fullness.
- Begin drying the hairs closest to the body and work your way to the tip.
- Be sure to dry all the way around the tail.
- Do not neglect the underside of the tail.
- The hairs near the end of the tail often are somewhat dryer than the hairs closest to the body. You may want to use a leave-in spray conditioner just on the guard hairs near the tip of the tail to keep the hair silky.
Shaping The Tail
There are two main reasons for re-shaping the tail
- To make the tail appear shorter
- To make the tail appear fuller
Begin with a freshly bathed, completely combed out tail. Evaluate how the tail looks in proportion to your cat. Does it appear short? Or long? Hold the tail up by the end and shake it and watch how the hairs fall naturally. Does it appear full? Or wispy Often the hair that falls past the actual boney end of the tail can give a false appearance that the tail is too long.
There are 3 ways of shortening or shaping the hairs on the end of the tail:
- By Plucking
- By Stripping or Breaking the hairs
- By using Thinning Shears
Slide your fingers down the tail until they slip just past off the actual bone of the tail. How long is the hair on the end of the tail? If the hair is more than one inch beyond the last bone of the tail, you can remove some of the length to make the tail appear shorter.
Shortening the Hair on the Tail by Plucking
To shape the tail, grip the tail firmly between your thumb and index finger at a right angle to the tail. Slide your fingers down the tail to about 3-4 inches before the end of the tail bone.
Shake the tail so the hair falls naturally. Now, pluck the longest hairs, following a curve from side to side. Shake frequently. The shortest I prefer hair on the end of the tail to be is about one inch (or one of my fat thumb widths) beyond the end of the tailbone. Of course, never shorten the tail hairs right to the tail bone!
Evaluate the shape of the end of the tail. It should look rounded. It should not have a pointed tip. Nor should it appear too square.
As you work, frequently fluff the tail by shaking it, watching how the hairs on the tail fall naturally.
Turn the tail 1/6-1/4 turn, re-shake, slide your fingers down the end again and continue plucking the longest stray hairs.
Constantly evaluate how well the plucked end is fitting into the outline of the rest of the tail.
Sometimes there are long guard hairs on only one side of the tail that are not on the other side. This can be the result of some hairs being broken off on the side the cat lays on the most when sleeping. You may choose to pluck them out.
Blend the shortened tip of the tail into the full brush of the tail. The tail should appear rounded from all angles. The tail should appear fat and short.
While most groomers just use their fingers to pluck and shape the tail, there are several other options available to help you perfect your cat’s tail including a stripping knife and thinning shears.
Using A Stripping Knife
A stripping knife (or blade) is a common tool used by dog breeders to prepare terrier coats. The “knife” has a serrated edge that can be used to cut the hairs at an angle and gives a more natural appearance than using thinning shears or scissors to shorten or shape the tail.
To use the knife, grasp a few hairs between the flat side of the knife and your thumb. By turning your wrist slightly, you bring the serrated edge in contact with the hairs.
Pull sharply. This results in both cutting some hair and plucking out others. With a little practice, you can become expert in varying the proportion of cut to plucked hairs to get just the effect you want.
Use Thinning Shears To Shape The Hair On The Tail
Thinning shears can also be used to shape a tail… but be careful. I often use thinning shears to get the tail “started” on a cat I am preparing to show in 3-4 weeks. Using thinning shears to shorten the hair creates an outline for me to pluck as the hairs grow beyond it (as they will). But using thinning shears can look unnatural, so use them sparingly.
I often use thinning shears on a plucked tail to remove an odd stray hair or two as a final “polish” to the tail grooming.
Trimming hair from the end of the cat’s tail does not make the actual tail any shorter. It only creates the illusion of the tail appearing shorter and thicker.
Can A Tail Be TOO Short?
There should always be at least an inch of hair beyond the end of the bone of the tail. Most judges routinely feel down length of your cat’s tail to check for tail kinks. When the judge slides his fingers off the end of the “bone” of the tail, he still wants to have some hair to hang onto.
Remove any hairs from the tail that are the wrong color.
The final step in grooming your cat’s tail is to check for any odd-colored hairs. If your cat’s tail is dark, black or seal point… look for any white/light hairs and pluck them out. If your cat is a dilute color (blue, cream, blue-cream,) look for dark hairs and pluck them out. If your cat is red-factored (flame point, red, red tabby), look for black/dark hairs and pluck them out.
And with a final comb through, your cat’s tail is now groomed to perfection.
