Greetings and salutations everyone! This morning, I had to take Lady Tabitha to a pet groomer to get her messy matts and knots out of her fur. Since she has gotten older, she does not (or perhaps is not able to) groom herself like she used to. So, we needed to take her somewhere.
Somewhere? Hmmm, that was a bit of a problem because trying to find a pet groomer in my area whose main clients are dogs and would also groom cats is extremely difficult. First, I called the place that groomed her about two years ago when she had this same problem, but they were very rude and just plain jerks actually and refused to take her. So, next I called Pet Smart, but they needed proof of her current shots or else they would not take her either! Finally, I reached out to my friend Meg who suggested that I call another place that offers grooming services called "Pet Supply Plus." Well, they no longer groom cats BUT they were very helpful and gave me the name of a local groomer who happens to be close to my house called "Penelope's Pooches."
Folks, this groomer is wonderful! They were so good with her and I was so very grateful. I made another appointment for May, in the event that I should need to take Tabitha again for a bath, etc. They even clipped her back nails and trimmed her tuffs of fur that grow out in between her feet/toes - this is very common with cat breeds such as Maine Coons and Norwegian Forest cats.
Poor baby, she was so bad that half of her body needed to be shaved - including underneath her shoulder blades. She looks like a little gray lioness. But, she is happy to be back home now safe and sound .... 🐱✂
She was so good and well behaved, the groomers just loved her! So, mommy rewarded her with a couple of cat treats after we arrived home!
Thank you so much, Bianca at Penelope's Pooches!
Lady Tabitha is a beautiful cat. She looks very similar to our big, furry Persian cat Max, who lived to be 17 years old.
ReplyDeleteMax was a gift to our daughter on her 7th birthday, years later when she got married and moved from our house, their apartment didn't allow cats, so Max continued to live with us. He was impossible for me alone,or my husband and I together to groom. Two times the results turned out to be very painful. The first grooming disaster was when he had a diarrhea problem and his puffy pantaloons of fur got very messy. I had a big enamel antique washpan that I thought I could fill up part way with warm water with some cat shampoo in it,kind of like a "sitz bath for cats" and then spray the "shampoop" water off of him with warm water. Warning: Never, ever,try to hold a grumpy cat and gently sit him down into a nice shallow tub of warm soapy water! As he felt the water touching him,he climbed up my arms like I was a tree trunk leaving bloody scratches on my wrists and arms. Then he just got to be sprayed off until we thought he was de-pooed enough. I ended up with my arms full of antibiotic cream.
The next terrible session happened a few years later. This time I was holding Max,and my husband was going to trim matted fur from under Max's armpit. Oh my gosh, Max cried out and my husband and I saw that under the mat of fur, the scissors blades had cut into Maxies' skin. It wasn't deep enough to bleed but it was a cut in his thin tender skin. I called the vet to see what we should do and he had cat safe antibiotic at the office that we could buy. My husband went to the vet's and immediately bought it and we put some on Maxie's cut. I forgot to mention that when we first saw that cut in his paper thin pink skin,my husband and I both started crying. The ointment took care of the cut and it healed right away. After that, Max had to go to the groomers for baths or any thing major.
On the last late afternoon of Maxie's life, he was waiting at the door,meowing to go out (he was so old at 17 years that he never went any further away from the door than just to the sidewalk just a couple of feet from the porch), He loved laying on the hot concrete in late afternoon when it started to get shady there. He always came back inside right before dark. That evening, it was starting to get dark and my husband looked out the door and Maxie was laying on the sidewalk, on his side all stretched out just like always. My husband called him to come in,and Maxie didn't even look up. My husband went out to get him. Maxie had fallen asleep in his favorite place and passed away there on the warm concrete.
Awww, thank you so much for sharing your story with me. My husband and I were too afraid to even so much as clip her back nails because we did not want to hurt her. Years ago, I had a mini lop bunny and I used to clip hs claws until one time I got too close to his vein and he bled. I freaked out! I quickly cleaned it with alcohol and used flour to coagulate the blood. It worked, but I never trusted myself to do it again after that.
DeleteIt is always so hard to lose them becuase they ARE an importnant part of our family afterall!
Awww, Tabitha is so pretty. Good that you found a great groomer.
ReplyDeleteThank you, CJ! :-)
DeleteSo pleased you found a good groomer ...
ReplyDeleteAll the best Jan