How to Groom a Cat That Hates It Page 2

I don’t know where this phrase was coined, so whoever you are, thank you!

I think all new groomers have a rite of passage when it comes to trying to please their clients and de-mat a pet that, in hindsight, should never been put through the ordeal. It’s a steep learning curve. We want to make our clients happy, but we haven’t learned to say NO in a manner that is tactful, educational, and fosters a long-term relationship. When I started out 15 years ago, I spent two days de-matting a very patient and tolerant Briard. Today my limit is 10 minutes.

Professional pet groomers don’t become groomers because they like to torture pets by de-matting. On the other hand, we don’t shave pets because we’re lazy or out of spite. A shave down is not pretty, nor is it good for business (unless it is the client’s preferred choice of hair trim) . No matter how careful you may try to be, with all the tools, products, and professional tricks at hand, de-matting is very uncomfortable and often painful. In my professional opinion, no pet should have to endure more than 10 minutes de-matting, as it only makes visiting the groomer an unpleasant experience. An animal cannot rationalize that it must tolerate de-matting in order to please some level of aesthetics, it only knows that it hurts. The customer and the groomer have to come to a middle ground of understanding by communicating the realities of the individual’s maintenance. Every pet’s needs are different, even within the same breed or litter-mates.

Some pets are just born with knarly, poor quality, greasy hair, or are natural slobs. Many pets just never see a brush or comb at home in between grooms. Other pets give their owners a hard time and the owner just gives up. Whatever the reason, a groomer cannot fairly undo months of indifference or neglect in a couple of hours. An experienced groomer will interview the client and their pet to find out what their grooming expectations are and based on the pet’s health,  hair quality, and lifestyle, will make suitable recommendations.

When a matted pet comes into my salon for the first time it is not uncommon for the owner to request, “Just shave out the mats.” The shaving, rather than ripping it out with a comb, I am in complete agreement with. The leaving a mohawk strip of unmatted but greasy dandruffy hair down the back, I am not in agreement with. Nor a patchwork of  hair vs. shaven spots. It looks ridiculous, like a epic battle with a lawnmover. It is best to shave the body down so the hair can regrow evenly and attractively. A regular bathing and combing scheduled is immediately suggested to avoid the necessity of shaving in the future. 

All pet owners should learn this equation:  loose hair + dirt/grease + moisture = mats.

 Actively questioning the client’s pet grooming expectations or assumptions will often bring to light gaps in Disney ideals vs. maintenance reality. Keeping to a regular schedule keeps every pet loveable (i.e. clean, attractive, reduced shedding, smelling good, and a pleasure to pet) and happy (i.e. feeling good, clean, and free from discomfort) which makes living with pets all the sweeter.

What is trust?

For the purpose of of building and maintaining trust in the grooming profession, trust can be defined as choosing to risk making  your pet vulnerable to another person’s actions. You choose your groomer because you believe their actions will support your wishes in the care and welfare of your beloved pet, and at the very least, not harm it in any way. Some owners extend trust easily and only withdraw if there is evidence of betrayal of that trust. Others believe that trust is to be earned by demonstrating trustworthiness and professionalism.

In pet grooming, trust is a more complicated relationship than most services. It’s not just about the mutual relationship between client and service provider. It is a triangle of trust between client, pet, and grooming professional. 

With trust flowing freely in all directions there a feeling of collaboration, care, and receptiveness to new ideas. Without trust there is only fear, anger, resistance, and blame. It is important to be very clear about expectations to foster a trusting relationship

The Pet’s Expectations:

• I will feel safe
• I will be given patience 
• I will be guided through moments of doubt or fear with understanding
• I will not be left unattended
• I will be in a clean, parasite-free environment.
• I will have my grooming needs tended to by a certified professional
• I will receive the level of regular grooming required for my breed, age, lifestyle to keep me clean, healthy, and loveable
• I will not be subjected to unnecessary dematting for the sake of vanity

The Client’s Expectations:

• I can trust my groomer to take very good care of my pet at all times
• My groomer has my best interest in mind in the care of my pet
• My groomer will be honest and tell me everything I want to know about my pet’s visit
• My groomer will fully disclose all costs and plan of action at time of checking in, with no surprises at pick-up.
• My groomer will help me with a maintenance plan and schedule
• My groomer will tell me if they notice anything unusual concerning the health of my pet
• My groomer will provide good value for services 
• My groomer will be honest in their credentials and experience
• My groomer will provide a clean, professional environment
• My groomer will provide grooming advise for at-home maintenance
• My groomer will be professional and respect the client relationship

The Groomer’s Expectations:

• My client has fully disclosed all their pet’s medical and behaviour issues 
• Vaccines are current
• My client has been clear concerning their needs and request for service
• If my client is unsatisfied with service, they will let us know immediately so we can correct any issues right away
• My client will show up for appointments on time or give 24 hours notice to reschedule. 
• My client will pick their pet up on time
• My client will maintain a regular grooming schedule and not neglect their pet’s physical and mental health and well-being by waiting until it is in severe condition before receiving grooming attention.

Most of the pet owners reading this probably don’t realize that the exchange between pet and groomer concerning feeling safe and being able to handle whatever comes is a two way street. The groomer has a right to feel safe too and to work well within their own experience and comfort level. It is as important for the groomer to communicate this to the owner as it is for the owner to fully disclose all behavioural quirks that are known. It is lying by omission or just plain negligence to hand over a pet with known aggression problems and hope the animal behaves itself. 

No matter how diligent, accidents do happen. Pets can do unpredictable things, groomers can make mistakes, and clients can lose track of time. Honesty is always the best policy. Once a breach in trust occurs it is very difficult to get it back. A clear acknowledgement  and apology without excuses or justification can make the difference between a broken relationship, and one that gets stronger.

I would love to hear your comments and suggestions for expectations I may have overlooked.

This may come as a shock. As a Certified Feline Master Groomer, the labs in the allergy laboratories in the U.S. will pay me  $140 CAD for each pound of dirty cat hair. Amazing. Why? Because cat allergies are twice as common as dog allergies. Cat hair is a reliable source because it is dirty and full of allergens.

An estimated 10 percent of people are allergic to household pets and among children, one in seven are allergic to Tiger, not Rover. Yet cats are the most popular house-pet in Canada.

Popular belief is that it is the fur causing the watery, itchy eyes. 

Wrong. 

Most people are reacting to proteins found on the cat’s skin and fur. The  There are actually five cat allergens described in medical literature, but the primary culprits are Fel d 1, and Fel d 4.  Laboratory gold. Both allergens are produced largely by cat saliva and the sebaceous glands. Fel d 1 is also produced by cat skin itself. So it’s not about the dander the cat sheds, it’s about the size and shape of the protein molecules.

Cat protein molecules are tiny, about one-tenth the size of a dust allergen. From the cat’s hair and skin it enters the air and can stay airborne for hours. It’s sticky too. It readily sticks to human skin and clothes and stays there, making it ever-present in the environment. It’s been found in environments where there are no cats – classrooms, medical offices, even the Arctic. 

All cats produce the proteins. While there are no true hypoallergenic breeds, there are some cats that produce more protein than others, especially unneutered male cats.

Here are some recommended steps offered by the professional allergist community that you can take to reduce cat allergy suffering: removal of soft surfaces in the home (carpet, furniture), frequent washings of bed linens, HEPA filters and washing cats has been proven to reduce the amounts of Fel d 1 present in the home. That’s right, w-a-s-h-i-n-g, with soap. Not combing, not shaving, not wipes, not “waterless” bath sprays.  An actual regular bath.

Allergy shots are another option. Small injections on a weekly basis for six months, followed by three to five years of monthly injections. A less troublesome option may be on the horizon as clinical trials are beginning for a cat allergy vaccine that has shown promise for  suffers.

In the meantime, simply washing the cat regularly will dramatically help reducing the allergens in your home, making it much more comfortable for everyone, with a glorious, fresh, silky soft puss as a plus. Love your cat, and bathe it regularly.

I admit it. 

I regularly “shop” other pet grooming establishments to see;

• whether they groom cats at all
• what do they consider “cat grooming” and what services does it include
• how much they charge for their “services”

Unfortunately, I am regularly appalled at the general level of service our pet grooming industry provides for cats.

Although cats are the most popular pets in Canada (36% of the pet households vs. 33% dogs) they are still treated as second-class pet citizens and expectations are very, very low when it comes professional cat grooming. What people don’t realize is that professional grooming is a training process that acclimatizes a pet to being handled, cleaned and groomed. 

Dogs need to be moulded into willing groomees, and so do cats. In my experience, dogs and cats are the same in their learning curve to the grooming process. It takes the same amount of time to teach the grooming process with intuitive understanding, patience, and good intentions. They differ only in the nature of how you overcome their potential fears, earn their trust to smoothen out the hurdles  as they may arise, and make the whole process enjoyable or at least tolerable.

So what is “grooming” supposed to be? Dictionary definition defines “grooming” as:

• to look after the coat of an animal by brushing and cleaning it
• to make clean and maintain the appearance
• to make something neat and attractive

Notice the word “clean”. There’s a big discrepancy in what pet groomers think a clean cat is. So let’s define”clean”:

• free from dirt, or unwanted matter, especially by washing
• free from dirt, stain, or impurities  

So when a pet groomer shaves off the gnarly spots on a cat and drags a comb over it, would you consider it clean and groomed? If the pet groomer tried bathing and gave up trying to dry the cat to completion and returns it half wet and frazzled, would you consider it “groomed”? If you got your cat back with bald patches or uneven trimming, would you be happy with how cute your pet looks?

 You wouldn’t for a moment as a dog owner. You’d demand a refund or go elsewhere.

If you took your dog to the grooming salon you would expect:

• a clean, appealing, dog-centric professional environment
• knowledgeable professionals
• a complete servicing of your furry friend, including  as many baths as it takes to get them thoroughly clean, a complete blow-dry, combing or currying,  nail trim, ear cleaning, and eye cleaning. 
• depending on your breed, you may want a hair trim according to your preference or lifestyle needs
• a variety of service options such as mat removal, speciality shampoos, coat conditioners, teeth brushing, de-shedding treatment, etc.

For most cat owners it seems the best professional service that they can hope for is an incomplete effort with minimal incident. For shame. 

Education is the key.

If your cat smells, has dandruff floating on the surface of the hair, throws up hairballs, has mats or tangles, looks like its been dipped in hair wax or feels greasy, has “stuff” stuck to it, your cat is not clean. Why cat saliva is considered a cleaning agent is beyond sound reasoning. A person or dog wouldn’t be considered clean if it was dipped in its own spit.

It is time for cat owners to unite and demand more for their beloved felines. Better education and quality service to keep their cats truly clean, healthy, and a joy to cuddle and live with.

As a professional groomer, there are times when, for the sake of humanity and compassion, you have to groom a pet that does not tolerant handling for certain areas or even all aspects of grooming.  Whether it is the natural disposition of the pet, or a fearful reaction, it is our responsibility to treat a pet in our care with sensitivity and empathy in the quickest time possible to prevent undue stress and fear. The introduction of the Air Muzzle(R) has been a wonderful option for grooming unpredictable pets.

The Air Muzzle(R)  is a bit of a  misnomer as is is not actually a muzzle that would fit over the snout of an aggressive or fearful animal. It is more like a Elizabethan collar or pseudo-space helmet . It fits around the neck like a space helmet and it prevents an animal’s teeth from coming into contact with a pet professional. Sometimes we need to  perform tasks that may create an aggressive reaction from the pet, yet is necessary to maintain the health and comfort of the pet. A good example would be nail trimming, a necessity for all indoor pets. No animal likes it, but the degree of tolerance varies a great deal. Avoiding nail clipping can cause painful splayed feet, arthritis, and ripped out, broken and ingrown nails. But this only one common example of when a pet professional may opt to use an Air Muzzle in order to keep the pet comfortable or clean.

The Air Muzzle(R) is designed with a deep trough for the throat to ensure no contact at all on the windpipe, yet it fits around the head and sits high on the neck behind the jaw bone. The animal can see clearly forwards and there is nothing on the muzzle or face whatsoever. This is why I prefer using the Air Muzzle(R) over a regular muzzle for both cats and small dogs if ever necessary. It is allows a pet to breath freely,  no restriction to sight, or anything that could cause annoyance  on their face.  Pets  adapt quickly when they figure out they can still see and breathe freely. They stay calmer and stress less when having to do some offensive grooming tasks. 

Because the Air Muzzle(R) seems to be such a benign and safe tool for pets, I have learned to use it in other useful ways. Some pets, understandably, strongly object to water or blow-dryers anywhere near their faces, so the Air Muzzle is a great tool to prevent this from happening. 

The Air Muzzle(R) is expensive, but an excellent investment ($90 USD or $115 CAD). Professionals will never know how they ever worked without it when comparing it to the other bite restraint options. A cat bite is far more infectious than a dog bite and every pet professional is entitled to work safely using the most humane tools available to prevent injuries. 

You can order your own Air Muzzle(R) here

In a previous post I talked about the lion trim and the pros and cons of the trim and why people may opt to have their cat trimmed in this fashion. I would like to illustrate  the different styles of lion trims (yes, there are different styles!) that use the contrast of long and closely trimmed areas depending on the condition of the cat and the owner’s individual preferences.

I must stress as a pet professional I DO NOT do lion trims on outdoor cats from October to April in my area. I will also NOT SHAVE SENIOR CATS in a lion trim as their lack of muscle mass and body fat makes the risk incredibly high to cut them, plus they are unable to regulate their body temperatures as well as when they were in their youth. I leave risky trimming decisions  like those to the veterinarian.

The first photo is a classic lion trim with full boots and a full mane. Attractive on most cats (except the pudgiest of cats where nothing is left to hide), it includes shaving the tail with a proportionate tail tuft which varies depending on the length  and texture of the individual’s tail hair. The mane follows the line of the shoulder blade.

The second photo is a lion trim that has no mane and the trim was taken to just behind the ears. This was out of necessity as there were big mats behind the ears and the bib which left virtually no mane to work with.  Some clients prefer less mane.

This tail is a full tail. The body hair on most cats is not as long as the tail hair. This is a good option for long-coated breeds such as Persians and Maine Coons as the tail is very long and full and takes over a year to grow again compared to the body typically growing out by six months. If you have a gorgeous tail on your cat, I encourage you to keep it!

I’ve included this photo to illustrate what I personally feel is inappropriate trimming. Some clients want me to trim as much hair off their cat as possible,  meaning they ask me to trim their faces, legs and paws.  The answer is a resounding NO!

Aside from looking silly and uneven, these areas are very sensitive with tactile whiskers in the back of the limbs and paws, plus they contain tendons which are easily injured. There is absolutely no professional justification to trim these areas. So as a professional Certified Feline Master Groomer, don’t bother asking if I will even consider it.

Fur that feels greasy, waxy, with mats forming around the base of the tail and rear end is sometimes a symptom of a skin condition. If the skin seems darker or discoloured at the base of the tail your cat probably has stud tail. 

Stud tail (also known as Tail Gland Hyperplasia or Supracaudal Gland Hyperplasia) is a feline version of acne, just like humans, but on the tail. It is hundreds of tiny blackheads caused by excessive oil production usually triggered by hormones. It can sometimes also be found on the chin too. It is usually associated with male cats, but females can also have this condition.

This first photo is of a female cat after a preliminary degreasing bath with some combing to break apart the matted hair on the tail so a closer inspection could take place. Notice the yellowing discolouration, greasy waxy appearance, black flakes, and darkened skin. It will often have a rancid smell. After evaluation, it was determined that the stud tail was extensive and that the tail would need to be shaven (as had the body of the cat already had been done) in order to improve the ability to treat and clean the skin condition.

With the tail shaven, in this second photo of the same female cat, you can clearly see the yellow waxy grease and the blackheads. This residue will rub off wherever  the cat goes, plus it looks and smells bad. So it was back to the tub for a deep cleaning tail exfoliating scrub combined with a degreasing organic cat-safe shampoo. I use Chubbs Bars Sugar Scrub. It works fabulously.

To get stud tail to clear up, an owner has to begin a regular regime of washing the tail twice a day with a degreasing cat shampoo or vet prescribed antiseborrheic shampoo. It is faster and easier if the infected area is kept shaven so the twice daily washing regime can penetrate effectively. Treatment of stud tail is not that different than daily cleansing for human acne, but please don’t use human products. 

Sometimes stud tail can cause secondary skin infections that look raw and oozy. This will require vet prescribed antibiotics to clear up the infection.

After the Chubbs Bar Sugar Scrub, the yellow wax and blackheads were mostly gone with renewed and deep-cleansed soft pink skin beneath. This was only the first step. It will take multiple regular cleansing to clear up the skin and regular bathing to prevent mats in the future.