Shed Happens

Spring is here! It's been unseasonably warm here in Maryland and it feels like we never really had a winter. But most of our furry friends grew in a nice winter coat just in case. And with the exception of today and yesterday, it's been almost hot for several weeks. That means us people are ditching our sweatshirts and coats and our kitties (dogs, ponies, bunnies, etc) are trying to ditch their winter coats as well.

Cookie is SO EXCITED Springtime Shedding is here

So. Excited.

Now. Cats have hair. Generally speaking, hair grows to a genetically determined length and then it falls out. That's why short haired animals seem to shed WAY more than long haired. That short coat grows in very quickly and then it's done. Falls out so the next hair can grow in. Yes, this is a very simplified explanation, but I'm a cat groomer, not a scientist. Sadly, it took about 25 years for me to realize science is awesome, but that's another story. Anyway, cats are always shedding. Shedding hair, shedding skin cells. That's one of the reason regular grooming is so, so important. This constant growth and loss can make a real mess of things if the shedding hair gets trapped with the growing hair, whether it's old hair and new hair getting tangled together  or body oils, saliva or other gunk causing the hair to stick together. These are two examples of why/how mats are formed. 

That got wordy. The point is, it's shedding season! And what happens when cats shed out their winter (or summer!) coats?

Excessive shedding - gross!

Mats!

Also Gross

Now, regular grooming ( I recommend 6-8 weeks for long coated cats and 8-12 weeks for short coated cats. One average, some cats need to come in much sooner, some can go longer.) prevents most of your usual cat problems. Don't take my word for it, ask my regular customers! But even on a regular schedule, seasonal shedding can get a little out of control. 

Shedding season is happening right now! Put down your vacuum cleaners and Swiffers. It's way easier to have a fabulous cat groomer groom your cat than to do all that extra housework. Plus you get a clean, snuggly soft kitty!

Cookie the Scottish Fold (minus the fold)

After Grooming

After a Professional Groom

(Snowshoe Cat)

Ash. Some mats, some excessive shedding.

This gorgeous cat came in to see me recently. A young cat, I think Ash is just a year or two old. His owner loves his soft, silky coat and told me they thought it was more like rabbit fur than cat hair. He had some tangles, but nothing major and all underneath. I suggested a Full Belly Clip in addition to his Full Coat Groom. This translates to a nose to tail bath (multiple shampoos! Running water! A real bath, no "waterless shampoo" nonsense here!), blow dry, comb out, finishing spray, nail trim, ears wiped, and clipping his armpits, belly, inner thigh/groin area and just under the tail. The Full Belly Clip helps prevent mats and lessens how much brushing his owner needs to do. So that was our plan.

Then she mentioned he was shedding and maybe they should clip him short for the summer. 

Guys. I totally don't mind if you wand your cats shaved. I don't. That is 100% up to you, after all, it's your cat and you live with it and I don't. 

But if you ask me my opinion, I will give it to you.

And she asked what I thought. So I told her. Ash is gorgeous. He has a lovely coat. It's pretty, it's soft and it's shiny. Or would be, once he was groomed. Clearly, his owner loved his coat as well. And I'm sure that's one of the reasons why they got him. So I told her that if it was my cat, I would do the Full Coat Groom and Full Belly Clip. Keep his lovely coat. That shedding can be minimized with regular grooming. And if they really didn't like it or thought he was shedding too much, we could always do a Lion Clip later. But if were up to me, I'd keep his coat.

oh la. The things I put up with!

So that's what we did. I truly hope his owner is happy with staying in full coat. I think he's simply fabulous. I wish you could feel him! I promise you that those last two pictures are of the same cat. Isn't the difference amazing? Look at his stripes! 

Mackeral Tabby Stripes

now visible thanks to a good grooming

Of course, had his owner decided on the Lion Clip, I would have done it. Like I said, it's not my cat that I have to live with. I want the owner to get the haircut they want for their cat. But if you ask me what I would do...or leave the decision up to me, I'm gonna do what makes me happy. And keeping Ash in coat definitely made me happy!

Happy Spring!

Spring is here and the Himalayans are in bloom...

Tomorrow is the first day of Spring! I've been enjoying springtime weather for the past few weeks. Enjoying the heck out of it! I'll get a real post up soon (about shedding) but right now I'm going to take Haiku for a walk with my friend and her little dog. Hooray for Spring!

Being Sensible

Remember waaaay back to last summer when I first groomed the ever lovely Lily? Remember that I thought her name was Mia? Yeah, sometimes I make stuff up. I'm also convinced my boss' cat is named Jack. It's not. I'm just so sure that it is! Anyway, little Lily is, in fact, Lily, and I need to go back and fix her name in that post.

Lily last Spring

Now, I've groomed Lily since last year, and she's just a lovely little cat. But the very last time I groomed her, I wasn't happy with the results. She turned out 'alright'. I don't know if I didn't bathe her as well as I could have, or it was that she cage dried too long, or she was just having a bad hair day. In case you haven't noticed, "alright" isn't good enough for me. But Lily had also been boarding with us for awhile and she wasn't the happiest cat. Rather than stress her out with more grooming, I let her be. 

But I was determined that I next time I groomed her, she would be Perfection Itself! So I waited, and plotted, and planned. I tried to figure out what went wrong and how to change it. I decided it was a combination of not the best bath and not the best drying technique. After some plumbing work was done, I realized it may have had something to do with our water. My cats were turning out even nicer than usual - with less work. Love it!

I waited a long time for Lily to come back. Her family had something going on and weren't able to get her in. I was thrilled when she came back in. I was going to give her the best groom. Ever! I spent extra time shampooing her. Making sure she was degreased. Making sure every inch was cleansed and massaged and rinsed. I fully hand dried her. And I realized she was matted. Not very badly, but she had a lot of little mats and tangles all throughout her coat. So I set about combing them out, one little tangle at a time. 

bathed, dematted, combed out...

and ready for a trim?

Lily is a really nice little cat. She doesn't mind being groomed at all. She enjoys being handled and loved on. But I had been working on her for awhile. Longer than ever before. And I did not want to ruin her good nature with a long, arduous groom. I had a choice. I could continue on and clip her, adding even more time to our grooming session and risk annoying her...or I could be done. She was clean, tangle free and gorgeous. Her face was trimmed and she had a sanitary clip. I know her owner would be happy to take her home just as she was. I mean, who wouldn't? I'd take her home in a heartbeat!

So I called up her owner and explained the situation. She knew Lily's condition had gotten a little out of hand and easily understood that the extra time and effort to de-tangle could be rough on a cat. We quickly agreed that Lily would stay in full coat for a few more weeks. Her owner would enjoy having a fluffy cat to snuggle with and Lily would enjoy not being pushed past her comfort zone, time-wise. And I enjoyed having completed a beautiful groom, a lovely kitty and an owner that cared about her. 

Himalayan Perfection!

I took Lily with me when I called her owner. It seemed easier than putting her in a cage...then having to take her back out...so much extra work! Plus it meant I could cuddle a soft, snuggley kitty. Lily had the tip of her tongue sticking out the entire time. Everyone admired her. My co workers, other pet owners, everyone enjoyed seeing such a pretty cat. She got a lot of attention while I made that phone call! Just as a beautiful cat should!

notice the squinty eye?

You may have noticed Lily is squinting. She also got to visit the vet after her grooming. I don't remember what was wrong, but she had mild eye ailment. When I carried her over for the examination, the doctor was amazed at how plush Lily was and said, "I wish my cat felt like this!" She then very kindly made an extra effort to keep the eye stains and drops in her eyes, instead of what most often happens with cats and eye drops, which is it getting everywhere. I'm happy to report Lily went home without any medication on her lovely coat!

More Than Looking Good

Of course one of the main reasons for having a pet groomed is so that it looks good. That's an undeniable fact. People bring me their cats so I can make them look and smell pretty. But there's plenty of other reasons that regular grooming with the same groomer (or the same salon) is important. And that's because we know your pet. And if something is wrong, it's often very obvious to us.

Maybelline is one of my favorite cats ever. I love her. I love grooming her. And I love how she snuggles up under my chin when I carry her around. I also love how flopsy and grumpy she looks when I groom her. She came in recently and I knew right away something was wrong. She had peed in her carrier. Not like her at all, but not uncommon for cats in general. But then she peed in the tub. That's normal for her. But then...She peed twice while I was drying her. She wasn't stressed out in any way, but when I moved her, there would be a pee spot on the towel. HMMMMMMMMM. The clincher was how apathetic she was. She didn't snuggle. She didn't look grouchy. She wasn't Maybelline. And since I've been grooming her every 4 - 8 weeks for over 8 months, I knew this was a radical change. 

Turns out Maybelline had a UTI. Right after I finished with her she visited the vet for a check up and tests. She's on antibiotics and doing great. We're all so happy she came in for her regular grooming and her illness was detected right away. 

Old, Blind, and Matted

This super sweet little cat came in a week or two before Maybelline. The grooming instructions were "old blind and matted". I was feeling grouchy so I complained to no one in particular that "old blind and matted" weren't instructions, unless I was supposed to make the cat old, blind, and matted. I try to avoid doing all of those things, so I called the owner and we decided a good bath, comb out and sanitary clip was the way to go. 

Soooo soft and silky!

She was wonderful for her bath and blow dry, relaxed and just a joy to work with. I set her in a cage to let her face dry a bit. While she was there the vet came by to give her some vaccinations. Later, when I took her out for her final comb through I saw a couple specks of blood on the cage wall. I checked her but didn't see any injury. I figured it may have been from the injection, or perhaps she had some blood drawn too. During the finish work I noticed a few drops of blood on the wall. I checked her over again. Nothing. Hmmmm...then she shook her head and blood went everywhere. Yuck! We went right over to the treatment area and had a vet check her out. Turns out she had ruptured her ear drum. Ouch! During the examination she rolled onto her back so we could rub her tummy and purred and purred. What a happy cat! 

Hard to take a picture, all she wanted to do was cuddle.

Her owner mentioned she had seemed a bit withdrawn, but as an indoor/outdoor cat she assumed she was just spending more time outside. She went home with some medicine and a treatment plan. 

I love making cats pretty, shiny and silky. But more than that, I like helping them be happy and healthy. Often I do that best by taking care of their hair, skin and nails. But sometimes I do it by noticing a change in their behavior that could signify illness and alerting their owners or their doctor. It makes me feel good to know that I was able to help these cats and I'll be able to enjoy some fuzzy cuddles again soon!

Crown Princess of Pretty

This lovely little doll faced Himalayan is Tiara. Tiara gives me pause because she has a bright orange CAUTION sticker on her medical chart. And those stickers aren't handed out lightly! While Tiara can be quite the fighter, for grooming she's pretty good. A bit grumpy now and again, but hey, who isn't?

bathed, blown dry and combed out

The first time I groomed Tiara she was a mess. Matted, dirty and had a nasty case of stud tail. I gave my normal recommendation of a 6 to 8 grooming schedule to keep her clean, healthy and tangle free, and to try and help minimize that stud tail. Noting that she'd been a once-a-year groom her entire life, I was pleasantly surprised to have her back in for grooming about 5 months later. Hey, it's a start!

phhbbbbtttttt!

I was happy to see that her coat had almost fully grown in from the Lion Clip and was in very good condition, just a few little tangles. Easy-peasy to comb out. Also, her stud tail had lessened and was not much more than  a little extra grungy build up, easily washed out. I love when a cats condition improves!

oh, hello there...

In between her comb out and clipping, I had to do...something, I can't remember what, so I tucked Tiara into the Catty Shack Vac to wait. I came back to find her perfectly relaxed, head sticking out and just looking around. She was completely unconcerned about being in there, and had no intention of escaping. She just wanted to look around. Too cute! 

"e" comb clip 

approximately 1 inch long

Despite the fact that winter hasn't really happened here in Maryland, Tiara's owner didn't want her usual Lion Clip, but he didn't want to leave her in full coat. He wanted 'just a little off all over', which for cats means a Comb Clip. The longest I can do is about 1 inch. Thanks to good prep work and good coat condition, I was able to do a nice, smooth clip. Often a Comb Clip (especially the shorter lengths) will leave lines. They tend to soften and disappear in a few days, as the coat begins to grow out, but it drives the perfectionist in me up the wall! Scissors being a huge NO-NO when grooming cats means I can't scissor out those lines like one could do while grooming dogs. Safety first, always!

Anyway, the longer Comb Clips tend to be smoother, and Tiara turned out gorgeous. I apparently didn't have any pictures of her last groom, nor any 'before' pictures of this one. I have a few more folders to check through, and if I find them I'll be sure to add to this post, it's always fun to compare! 

lucky for me you're a better 

cat groomer

than 

photographer!

Aw, thanks Tiara. I guess one should always expect at least a little snark from a Himmie!

Owl Cat...

is watching you!

Just One More

I've been on a short hair grooming kick recently. Let me do just one more post and then we'll see some long haired kitties. Promise! In fact, originally I planned today's post to be a cute story about a very fluffy Maine Coon mix, but I forgot to take pictures that day and the pictures from her previous groom didn't do her justice. Hard to tell a cute story about a sweet, cuddly cat when the only pictures I have are from a day when she was cranky!

Anyway, this is the story about a middle aged domestic shorthair that came in for his first grooming a couple of months ago. His owner had stopped by for our Open House and we got to talking. She told me her cat had never been groomed, she'd never really thought about it. But, come to think of it, he did seem to shed a lot, and she didn't really like that, but it's part of having a cat, right?

so very worried!

Again, I can't recall this cat's name, but he was very sweet and very nervous about new things. Everything that we did was scary. On the table for a nail trim? ::worry:: Walk over to the tub? ::worry:: Turn on the water and lather up? ::worry:: It was really cute, mainly because of how expressive he was. Just look at his face! 

kinda icky and needing a bath

What I loved most about this cat is that no matter how worried he was, once things happened, he relaxed and accepted them. Sure, he was concerned about me touching his feet, but once he realized it was just a nail trim and nothing bad was happening, he calmed right down and even offered me his paws, one at a time. Turning on the water and getting wet seemed scary at first, but after a minute he started to enjoy being shampooed. A very rational cat! I love it.

hair removed with my hands prior to bathing

The above picture is the amount of hair I removed from him before grooming him. I just ran my hands over his coat - no combing or brushing. Yep! I'd say he has a shedding problem! That's a lot of hair to be sitting on the surface of a cat - and that's the hair that's getting all over the house. Yuck. I was impressed, and took a picture to show his mom.

so handsome!

Now, despite how very worried this cat was for each step of the grooming process, there was one thing that he loved. Loved from the minute I started and never had any conern over. And that was the deshedding tool. It's hooked to my vac system, and though it's fairly quiet, I figured he'd worry over it at first, like he had everything else. I was wrong.

things that are hard to do:

taking a picture of a cat headbutting

a Rake 'n Vac

While using said tool

I <3 you!

It was really hard to get a picture of him doing it, but he adored the Rake 'n Vac. He headbutted it, rubbed up against it, flopped on his side and purred. It was so cute! Since it was the final part of his groom, we got to end on a good note. He got to go home to his owner, who was thrilled at how well her worried little cat had done and was surprised to hear how much he loved his shedding treatment! 

I was never *really* worried!