Questions regarding professional grooming

[Maresche]

Hana is our 1st and only long haired cat. We got her from the Humane Society shelter we volunteered at 4 years ago and I don't think she was every acclaimated to getting brushed as a kitten/young adult. Our vets estimated her age to be roughly 10 years when we first adopted her. Up until this point, we'd been able to keep her long hair under control by combing her while bribing her with ALOT of treats and using even more treats when we needed to use the mat breaker from time to time.

This is no longer working. It doesn't matter what kind of treat we use, she won't let us near her with the comb or mat breaker and we've tried everything we can think of. She has a full set of claws and has no problems with using them and her teeth. We think it is time to take her to a professional groomer.

Would a groomer even take her at her age, roughly 15 years, and her tempermant? We have a Petsmart near us that does grooming. Is that the best place to start or should I try to find a smaller, Mom & Pop type place? What kind of charge can I expect? Hana is an older cat and has some health issues (hyperthroid, kidney failure, etc) and we'd like to keep her as comfortable as possible, but we can no longer keep on top of her matting problem.

Thank you in advance!

[catmandu]

That would be a good question for Jen whos a professional groomer,and probably had dealt with more than a Few Unhappy Campers in her day.

[trinity]

We have actually done both, the little private shop and Pet-Co...I can not honestly say one was better than the other. I liked the private shop because she would have me come in early before the dogs all arrived for their grooming. At the same time, she smoked the whole time she was grooming, and she basically caused our neighbors dog to pass on quite a bit before his time. (that is a whole other story...) Pet-co was good except for the fact that they didn't tell me on the phone to bring his vaccination papers nor did they tell me I would need to drop him off and come back 7-8 hours later...not an option as we live an hour away and I wasn;t to use most of a tank of gas to go back and forth (this was when gas hit close to $3 a gallon out here.)

If I had to take another animal to be groomed I think I would stick Pet-Co now that I know the routine....

I know that probably didn;t help anything but....

[jenluckenbach]

If you were to call me, I would tell you that "I would try her. But at her age and if she was too unmanageable, I might need to send her home undone."

But with that said, I have not had to send very many cats away over the years.

You might be looking at a shave down, and if so it WILL be SHORT! A cat's skin is very delicate, and age makes it even more delicate. You cannot brush out mats on a 15 year old cat as easily as you can on a 7 year old cat.

As for where to take the cat......find out how experienced the groomer is with cats. A 15 year veteran could be working at Petco or a 1st year newbie, who never used a clipper on a cat, could be at a private shop. You need to find someone who does cats well. (it takes a special knack to do cats vs. dogs).


As for cost.........a full grooming at our shop for a long hair cat ranges between $40 and $60.

[Maresche]

Thank you all very much for your replies. It looks like I have some research to do.

Once Hana is looking like the pretty girl she is again, I'll post pictures.

[Maresche]

Thanks again Jen. I've found a groomer in my area with 20+ years experience with cats that Hana will see on 3/15.