Cats have an amazing and specially designed tongue that they use to keep their fur looking their best, along with removing, and digesting lose hair. Sometimes the cats own effort isn’t quite enough to keep tangles and mats at bay. This is especially true in the spring when cats tend to shed quite a bit, and if the cat is long haired. Sending your cat to a groomer can help to untangle mats, remove large quantities of lose hair while shampooing the cat to make her look and feel her best.
Most groomers will bathe the cat and add some form of conditioner. But there are many other services a groomer will do. Many groomers offer haircuts for cats. Some will do an overall trim, while others do fancy cuts. Your cat can look like a lion, or, **cough** a poodle.
Sending your cat to the groomer may be a great time for kitty’s nails to be trimmed. Some groomers will even add polish to the claw with bows in the fur of matching colors.
Needless to say, most cats do not enjoy this process whatsoever and will put up a fight every step of the way. After all, cats aren’t really sure what is happening when a groomer starts coming at them with water and soap, and so it’s only natural that the cats would react with fear and sometimes even with aggression.
While this could spell disaster if you tried it at home, professional groomers know what to do to make it easy in kitty, and how to restrain your cat gently in order to get the job done. Grooming, and especially dealing with, a cat is totally different than grooming a dog. A groomer experienced with cats is a must.
When your cat comes home from the groomers – especially if this was its first experience with a groomer – it may hide out for a while. You might be disappointed because perhaps you want to show off your shiny, groomed cat, but you need to be patient with your cat because going to the groomers can be a traumatic experience for a cat.
You should also keep in mind that most cats can go their entire lives without a single visit to the groomers. Cats are usually clean creatures and do an effective job of keeping themselves tidy. If you insist on sending your cat to the groomers, however, be ready to pay quite a bit for the experience and to deal with an angry cat when it’s all over.
