This Year I'm Thankful For...

for soft, snuggly kitties

the sleek and sassy 

the grumpy

torties, calicos and patched tabbies 

(oh my)

the overly enthusiastic

the remarkably relaxed

my wonderful customers

and my very own 

Kitten!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Kittens are adorable. They're cute and snuggly and silly and sweet. They make me so happy, but I don't get to groom enough of them, so please, for the sake of my continued happiness, bring me kittens!!!!!!!!!!

oh hai! I'm ADORABLE!

chin scritches for kitten kisses

There's another kitten in the table!

wait. Where'd it go???

checkin' out the Catty Shack Vac

This little cutie got a bubble bath, gentle blow dry, comb through and mini sanitary clip. Of course her nails were trimmed and her ears wiped as well. She also got tons of cuddles. While I put in her the Catty Shack Vac for a few minutes to practice drying, I did *not* turn on the vacuum. You know...just in case. She was a wee little mitten! Mostly she was dried while sitting on my lap, with the dryer on the lowest setting with no diffuser nozzle. The goal for kitten grooms is to get them used to grooming in the most low key and least threatening way possible. This little girl did great! She was curious and feisty, but able to be groomed in less 45 minutes, going slowly and quietly, with lots of mini play or cuddle breaks. That's the way we like it!

grooming's done, let's go explore!

Everypony Loves Creative Grooming!

This has almost nothing to do with cats. Last week I was watching the new episode of My Little Ponies: Friendship is Magic. Since I was a little girl in the 80s, My Little Ponies was the crux of my childhood and I'm thrilled at how fantastic MLP:FiM is.

What does this little tidbit have to do with anything, and how does it relate to cats? Good question!

I spotted this pony, whose costume reminds me of...

Mr Toes!!!!

Oh noes, Mr Toes...how do these things happen to you?

Why one should wait to swim after eating

The Mr Toes/Shark groom was my first attempt at creative grooming, ever. I had never tried my hand at creative styling, I had never clipped Mr Toes and I definitely didn't practice this groom at all before driving up to Intergroom and competing. I had less than a week to come up with an idea, find a cat and gather materials. I'm happy to say my skills have increased substantially since then! I'd like to redo this and have my shark more like a shark and less like a sting ray...

Anyway. I was pretty excited when I saw the random background pony costume. I'm sure they didn't do it was tribute to Mr Toes, but I'm going to pretend they did. If you all would like to pretend too, that's ok with me. Mr Toes just wants some catnip and some feet to rub against.

Mischief Managed

Remember the calico cat from this post? I had no idea who it was. Didn't remember her at all. Couldn't think of her name, or when I groomed her. A big blank. Well, the other day I had a cat on my schedule that I had apparently groomed a few months ago. Mischief? Who's that? Drew a huge blank. Didn't remember grooming it. No idea what it was like. Now, my memory is like Swiss cheese, but I usually remember pets I've groomed.

I bet you've figured it out. That cat was the same cat I couldn't remember from last post! Hee hee hee. It amused me. I still don't remember grooming her though.

I can't *believe* you don't remember me!

When her owner dropped her off, she said to me, "You must have given her a brain transplant in addition to grooming her last time!"

This statement concerned me greatly and I was afraid of what psychological changes my grooming had created for her cat. 

Then she continued, "She's gotten so friendly! I know you told me it could happen, but I didn't believe you. She jumps up on the sofa to sit next to us, she lets us pet her more and she comes up for affection. We've had this cat 10 years and she's never been like this! I guess she likes her hair short. Let's do that always."

Being in a Lion Clip makes me snuggley

While I don't remember any of this, it is totally true! Even though a few cats make appear 'embarrassed' or unhappy with a haircut, the majority of them really enjoy, if not the grooming itself, the effects of being groomed. And why not? Animals (including people!) feel and act better when they are clean and tangle free. Some cats really enjoy being in short coat. I guess it feels more comfortable for them. Sara is one of those cats, by the way.

Never professionally groomed at 10 years old

Mischief is clumpy, greasy, uncomfortable

and prefers to hide in the corner

Now, I don't remember grooming this cat. I don't remember if she was good for her grooming or not. Her owner indicated that I had told her Mischief was grouchy at first, but once clipped down, had gotten considerably better. This seems logical and like something I would tell the owner. 

Mischief 'yelled' at me the entire time she was groomed

I was surprised by how good she was for her grooming. Now, she did 'yell' at me the entire time I groomed her! A fairly constant, loud meowing that reminded me of an irritated person saying "Hey! Hey you! Hey! Heeeey!". Some cats will 'talk' to me. "Meow?" And I'll say something, and they'll meow back. This was different. She was mrowing AT me, not TO me. She didn't seem upset at all though. In fact, she seemed to really enjoy being clipped! She lounged on the table and laid contentedly when I moved her around. Her bath was quick and easy. She was perfectly placid for her blow dry. 

a rare moment of quiet

Doesn't she look kinda smug, like yeah, I'm so pretty!

I really enjoyed grooming this cat. She was so good and so easy to work with. I knew she would continue to be a happier cat, and in turn, her owner would get more enjoyment from her. Such a wonderful feeling! When I put her away to wait for her owner, one of the other groomers asked sympathetically, "bad cat, huh? I could hear her carrying on!" I just laughed and told her that despite the yelling, this was the best cat I'd groomed in awhile!

How They REALLY Feel

Sometimes I take weird pictures that I can't really use. It's hard to show people that most cats accept grooming, and some even really enjoy it, with a picture of a cat making a grumpy, strange or wacky face.  But I have the pictures, and they make me laugh. All the cats shown are really good kitties that like being groomed. Honest. I've just managed to capture them having some private thoughts. Hope you enjoy!

pffffft!!!!!!

can I just give myself a bath...?

I wanna go HOME!!!

Ughn. I'd hate you, but it would be 

too much effort.

catnip hangover

Yarr! Where has all the rum gone?

I haz a flavor...

Back to Work

I had a plan. It was glorious. It would have taken care of my blogging problems, made me feel useful and been a good use of my time. Recently my husband got sent to Chicago for a conference. I got to go with him. Apparently this is how my family vacations. Anyway, my plan was to go to Chicago, hang out in a fancy hotel, watch tv, edit all those pictures I have and write a bunch of blog posts.

this cat is totally correct

While I managed to watch tv (we don't have tv at home, so this was exciting for me) and hang out in a nice hotel (a Westin, snazzy!), I didn't edit one picture. I didn't write anything. I didn't even really think about it. Being productive got ditched as soon as I realized that our hotel was right next to the Des Plaines River Trail. And that's where I spent most of my time. The weather was gorgeous. Sunny, warm, perfect for being outside. I ended up with some blisters and a bit of sunburn. I got to see ducks, snakes, a bunch of dogs and even a couple of horses!

Of course, after 3 days of perfect early fall weather in Illinois, I came back to Maryland, where we're having a series of perfect, early fall days. So instead of coming home and getting some work done, I've been walking on the equestrian trails, visiting my horses (who are already fuzzy for winter) and generally reveling in my
favorite season.

Fall is fun!

Today I did manage to get some editing done and soon I'll have a real post about cat grooming for you. Promise!

so halp me Ceiling Cat!

Brave, Stupid, Both?

Guys. I've been slacking. Ideally my goal is to get a post a week. Maybe two if I'm feeling chatty. Here's the problem: I hate editing pictures. And pictures are important. I bet most people have never seen a cat being groomed. Most people still don't know cats *can* be groomed! Besides, who wants to read a blog without pictures? 'Whoo boy. I groomed this cat that was so matted! Then I shaved 'n bathed it and it looked great! No, really, it was awesome. You shoulda been there!'

Booor-ing!

So, yes, I have tons of pictures that only need a few clicks to edit and watermark before they're ready to entertain you. Last week I caught a head cold, which wasn't too bad, but it dragged on and I didn't really feel like doing much. I tried a few times to catch up on the pictures, but quickly realized I didn't feel like being vertical. Or awake.

Anyway, I'm almost over it. Not quite, but I think this evening I'm going to try going to yoga class. If I can handle that, then I have no excuse not to edit those pics!

Of course, I didn't write all this up to elicit sympathy, whine or make excuses. Honest. Ok, maybe a little. No, I really wrote this because I have to share something. Something that surprised me so much that it would have knocked me on my ass if I hadn't been sitting already. Something that made me laugh and brightened my whole day.

I'm shamelessly taking this from the National Cat Groomers Institute of America's e-newsletter:

Diary of a Student. Where is she now? 

Beth Rex, CFMG, CFCG was one of the first four brave souls to invest in a 2-week cat grooming school course when everyone else thought it was a bit weird. That makes Beth brave or stupid or both. (We prefer to think BRAVE!). As it turned out, Beth was not only extremely brave to embark on this new venture into unknown territory, but she was also brave when it came to wrangling mean, feisty kitties with 18 claws and very sharp teeth. Beth, we quickly learned, is also very talented and very smart. The making of an excellent cat groomer, to be sure!
Since graduating from the NCGIA in January 2010, Beth sold her dog grooming business and set out to become a feline-exclusive groomer. In April of 2010, Beth, being the brave soul that she is, took a stab at the Feline Fantasy Creative Cat Grooming Competition held at Intergroom. She placed first with her creative rendition of a cat being eaten by a shark.  


"Diary of a Student"* is a blog on the NCGIA website that is authored by Beth and details her experiences while at the cat grooming school. To get an idea of what it's like during those two weeks, please read her blog. Both humorous and informational, the blog is an easy read.


Also, check out Beth's own blog, entitled "The Finical Feline" which contains lots of photographs of cats before and after they are groomed as well as dialogue between her and her many clients.


Beth was also featured recently on PetEdge's own blog simply because they thought her entry was interesting, entertaining, and unique. Check it out here.


It is truly amazing to see so many CFMGs be successful at growing their businesses and finding themselves with a great deal of positive media buzz! This makes us proud!

I absolutely adore the folks at the NCGIA. They're incredible, talented, strong and opinionated! And every once in a while they surprise me with something like this. Thank you ladies!

*Just thought I'd mention, The Diary of a Student blog is only semi factual. Danelle asked me to write somewhat generically, so that it could have been written by any one of the students in the current class, or in any class at all, really. Apparently the current (at the time) class had some fun trying to figure out who it was! Heehee, it was a fun little project, and the secrecy made it even more enjoyable for me! To my knowledge, this is the first time I've been named as a real author of the blog.