In the article titled Unusual Hair Loss In A Himalayan Kitten, we discussed a kitten named G-nome who mysteriously lost most of his coat at 3 months of age. Prior to that point, G-nome had a typical Ristokat kitten coat — it was very easy to care for although longer than my kittens usually had so young. As explained in the original article, while G-gnome’s hair fell out quickly, it also grew back quickly — but as the hair got some length to it, it was very different from before. He never seemed to really get back his fine undercoat. Instead the coat that grew back seemed to be mostly composed of thicker, longer guard hairs.
The coat was very greasy but also very dry. G-nome was also a very grubby kitty — he had decided he LOVED raw food, and literally “wallowed” in it each meal. The normal bath routine of Goop and Dawn to de-grease, a good shampoo, and then a conditioner on the ends just was NOT working for him. This was all very frustrating for me and his new mom. We just couldn’t seem to make his coat look as good as we thought it should.
Regardless, we groomed his coat as best we could and traveled to California to show him for the first time as an adult in the Premiership class. Luckily, a good friend and Persian breeder came by to visit at the show, and he suggested a solution to Gnome’s grooming issue.
K-PAK Conditioner
The magic solution was a product called K-PAK Conditioner manufactured by Joico. We were eager to try this new product. Although it was available online, that takes time, and we really wanted to have it and give it a try BEFORE G-nome’s next show the following weekend. So, we looked on Joico’s site for local stores that carried it, and then made a trip to the closest one to pick it up.
The Technique
K-PAK Conditioner is a human product, and the directions on the bottle were written for a person not a cat, however, our friend from California had given us detailed instructions regarding how to use it for a cat.
- To apply the K-PAK, we simply added about a teaspoon of the conditioner to 16 ounces of water.
- We mixed it well, and then poured it over the cat and worked into his coat.
- Once the conditioner was applied, we let it sit for 10 minutes.
- Luckily (for whatever reason!), G-nome decided hanging out soaking wet was okay. He just folded up his front legs and rested on the center divider of the sink for the entire time.
- No, he doesn’t really “LOOK” happy in the photo below , but he sat without moving for the entire 10 minutes, so he was obviously not that upset by the wait.
The Results
K-PAK made a huge difference in G-nome’s coat after just the first application. His coat looked and felt wonderful after the bath. It no longer looked greasy, but instead had more volume and felt soft and silky to the touch.
Conclusion
I couldn’t be more pleased with the results. K-PAK not only improved how G-nome’s coat looks and feels, but it also seems to help reduce staining on his coat and ruff from his messy eating. K-PAK Conditioner is definitely going to be part of my show bath grooming regimen from now on.
