Rockin' Your World

I have favorites. I won't lie, it's true. And while I openly admit that I have favorites, I seem to have a lot of them.

One of my very favorite favorites is Maybelline. I adore her. I'm so happy that she has become a regular! Every 8 weeks I get a visit from my delicate little snuggly ball of fluff. In fact, I finally got to speak to her owner after her last groom, and he had some wonderful things to say!

To summarize, he was delighted with how she looked. He told me he knew what purebred Himalayan Cats were supposed to look like, he'd seen them at cat shows and in pictures of course, but he didn't know that his cat could look like that! He'd always had her professionally groomed and always thought she'd been groomed well, but the difference between that and what I was able to do was astounding. Clearly, I was some kind of Cat Grooming Wizard. He loved the look and feel of the groom, and enjoyed the longevity of it as well. He likes to comb her at home and was thrilled at how much easier it was. And how little effort he had to put into it!

Finally, when I told him how good she was and how much I enjoyed working with her, he told me - no one's ever said that. I'm so happy that you've bonded with her. I feel much better about taking her in for grooming knowing that you two get along so well. I'm committed to bringing her for regular grooming with you. I always want her to look this way!*


*Please note - I have a flaky short term memory and I spoke with her owner about 2 months ago, so this is the gist of the conversation, not an actual word for word recall. Believe me, hearing such honest praise from the owner of the cat that I love to groom and can groom well was about the best thing that happened to me all month.

All that being said, you could imagine how happy I was to walk into work on Tuesday and have Maybelline waiting for me. I always groom her first as it sets a happy, peaceful tone for the day. This day I spent a few extra moments snuggling her against my neck and enjoying the feel of a gentle cat.

Soft and fluffy and ready to snuggle

The first time grooming her took some work. She had tangles and mats and needed time to get everything sorted out. The second time was easier, although she was changing into her Summer Pajamas and we had some shedding hair tangled into healthy coat to contend with. 

Today was a piece of cake. A few little tangles in her mane combed out easily. A good, quick bath and then a blow dry without dematting - she didn't need it! Then it was just a matter of combing, clipping her belly and trimming her face. 

I love how grumpy she always looks

I took a few minutes to snuggle her before I sent her home. I had a very busy day with 6 more cats to do. I loved starting with a sweet and easy to work with cat!

Of course, Tuesday was the day of the Great Virginia Wiggle, which we felt pretty clearly up in Maryland. I was clipping a cat at the time. Being sedated, the cat didn't notice anything. Not being sedated I noticed! Talking with my co workers we were able to determine that most, if not all, of the women noticed the shaking, but none of the men did.

I'm not going to comment on that!

I'm easily amused by things and enjoyed the good natured tongue in cheek OMG EARTHQUAKE!!1!!1!! joking that's taking place.  I posted on a cat grooming Facebook group that I survived grooming in the quake. Someone commented that now I would always be expected to 'rock their world' whenever I groom their cat. I have to say, I'm excited to have experienced my first earthquake, glad it was a minor one and I'm happy that I groomed a cat through it. How many people can say that?

my favorite picture floating around the internet

Contrast

A while back we had a mini Meet the Groomer session at my work. I wanted to have some examples of the grooming I do, but wrangling multiple cats didn't really appeal to me. Since I know one cat I can always count on, I decided to use her. The drawback, of course, is that I could only demonstrate one style. OR COULD I???

Meet Sara, most dependable of cats!

Sara is a wonderful cat. She travels well, is super friendly, and completely unflappable. She loves being groomed and will let me do just about anything with her. Her only drawback is that she's black and that makes adding color tricky. Also, as a Highland Lynx, her curled ears can be intimidating to some that immediately assume she's aggressive or whatever. In reality, she's a snuggly little cuddly bunny.

To complicate matters, Sara was still grooming out from a creative grooming competition. I decided to have some fun anyway. 

lion clip with full mane on the left

1/2" Clip Comb and tight mane on the right

Side by side comparison of clip lengths

This was a quick and easy way for me to show two popular hair styles on one cat. The Comb Clip was a little wonky, since her coat hadn't grown out enough to remove the pattern. But the overall effect was fun and educational. Everyone enjoyed petting her and feeling the difference between coat lengths. Sara didn't mind (or notice) the different clip. She's a trooper. Afterwards I finished her into a regular Lion Clip with a tight mane. I thought her owner would appreciate having a balanced cat! 

Even More Himalayans!

Recently I groomed a wonderful and super sweet Himalayan. The owner asked if I groomed any other Himmies. Why, yes. Yes, I do! In fact, I think groom more Himalayans than any other breed. It might even rival the number of regular ol' Domestic Long Hairs that I groom. That's a lot of Himmies! Today, I'll tell you about Moses.

Moses would like to go back in his crate

it's right there on the floor!

See it? It's Right. There.

The Hims I do seem to be either itty bitties, like Maybelline or Lilly, or big ol' bruisers like Moses. No in between here! Of course, Himmies also tend to be really, really good or really, REALLY bad (for grooming) with no in between either. It's always fun to see what my Himalayans for the day end up being like.

In reasonably good shape, he needs a good bath and blow dry

Note the pointy, pointy ear tips and overgrown brow

Not the round, cuddly look a Him should have

One of my favorite things about grooming Persians and Himalayans is getting to fix their faces. These cats should have a round, cuddly, sweet and open expression. Look at him, does he look any of those things? No way! Now, some cats will look grumpy no matter what, but a good CFMG like me will be able to help attain a more correct expression. It's a lot fun!

disregarding the color wonkiness (my camera...)

notice how very round his face is

After a few good shampoos, a blow dry and comb out, Moses is looking much more like a cat you'd want to cuddle up with while watching TV or reading a good book. His coat is elegant and flowing. He smells much better, and his expression is much more friendly. Much less Killer Lynx and much more Cuddly Kitty.

Doesn't he look much happier?

(all things considered)

Moses is a  pretty tough boy. But doesn't he look more appealing and less grumpy after his grooming? Sure, he looks like he's thinking unkind thoughts about me and my lineage, but he looks snuggly at the same time. He was a delight to groom, both for the fun before-and-after face and because he was a very good kitty throughout the entire groom. Also a fun change up from my recent bout of teeny weeny Himmis.