Cat grooming

Add Cat Grooming to Your Salon Offer

Sarah Mackay and Fern Gresty - the iPET Network share their views:

Everyone enjoys watching their cat groom themselves, and a cat’s mouth is antibacterial, which means when kitty licks her fur she is actually doing quite a good job of making herself ‘clinically clean!’

With cats as well as dogs there are different coat types, and it is important to get to know a pet and their grooming needs.

Of course with a short furred moggy the challenge is not as great, but for a cat with fine long fur this should be a consideration for prospective pet owners.

Pedigree and purebred cats are bred to meet the breed standard as closely as possible, and coat types vary from breed standard to breed standard.

In the grooming world we often see cats where the owners have waited far too long to take their pet to the groomer, and with cats more than dogs it feels as though owners wait for it to become a welfare issue before turning up.

We all know that cats are very different to dogs in terms of temperament. iPET Network expert groomer Heidi Anderton, who runs Absolutely Animals in Lewisham, South West London, says you have to ‘treat them like an egg’.

Experienced groomer Heidi, who has pioneered her own two person grooming technique, said: “Unlike a dog, cats read you from your core, in our salon we have two groomers per cat, and they know if you are chatting about something that is not the groom. It has to be all about them!”

With long furred cats the RSPCA says that owners should be brushing their pet at least once a week. And that grooming not only prevents matting and tangles, but also removes dust, loose hairs and dead skin.

The owner grooming their cat at home also gets them used to the brush, so that when they do come to our salons they are calmer and more used to being looked after.

Having a calm cat to work with also allows the groomer to check for any skin or health problems which they may not otherwise be in a position to look out for.

So when a cat comes into your salon our advice is to advise the owner to get a brush and keep it up a bit at home too, because we all know that some cats love to draw a bit of blood!

As part of the course, we advise trainee cat groomers to always trim the animal’s nails before the groom begins. You can also wear forearm sleeves which provide protection from scratches and bites.

If absolutely necessary a sympathetically used muzzle, or Elizabethan collar can help to make the process less stressful for the cat but must be used humanely.

Cat grooming is certainly different to dog grooming, but with an iPET Network cat grooming qualification it can easily be added into your existing business model, with very little initial outlay.

To find out more visit www.ipetnetwork.co.uk