Blood and Mayhem at the Cat Groomer's....

[The Velveteen Ocelot]

My blood, that is.

My fluffy little sweet kitty, Pixie, had these nasty mats in her armpits and the backs of her hind legs, and she wouldn't let me tease them out. She just doesn't like being combed or brushed, although I try. So I realized I needed professional help for this problem, and I took her to a groomer this morning. The groomer is a nice woman who has been grooming cats and dogs for almost 30 years. She definitely seems to know her business.

Nevertheless...

It was just surprising to discover that an angry eight-pound cat couldn't be effectively held onto by two adult women.

The groomer said that ideally we should have had three people to hold her still enough to trim the mats off. But somehow we managed. The only blood that got shed was mine, and it was under a pint. I apologized profusely for Pixie's ornery behavior, but the groomer was cool; she said a lot of cats just get like that. Pixie was none the worse for the wear and now she looks gorgeous.

Cat groomers are very brave people.

[Fire Walk With Me]

1. The groomer was experienced.

Like someone who has worked at a moving company for a while, they get you to take the difficult part of any two-person job, as is their right in seniority ;)

Glad you and the cat are well!

[The Velveteen Ocelot]

2. She was a very good groomer.

But she did have me positioned near the pointier parts of the cat.

[krispos42]

3. Glad your kitty came out okay

My cat doesn't like to be brushed except on her back, but she generally lets me grab a hair mat and pull it out.

Just don't try to brush the belly!

[TZ]

4. Happily my cats are short haired.

But even if they needed to be groomed I think they would try to run away and hide instead of bite and scratch. They really don't have a mean bone in their bodies...

[The Velveteen Ocelot]

7. Pixie isn't mean, either,

but she HATES being interfered with. Mostly she struggled and squirmed and tried to get away, but at one point she kind of lost it and nipped me. The groomer decided to trim her claws early in the proceedings, fortunately.

[meow2u3]

5. I had a cat who had to be anesthetized to be groomed

My late, great Maine Coon, Sylvester, suffered from such severe skin allergies he'd constantly get mats because it was too painful for me to brush or comb him. Every time I tried, he'd yelp in pain and even scratch me.

Twice I had to take him to the vet to be dematted, and even he and his assistants couldn't groom him while he was awake; both times the vet had to put him under anesthesia to do the procedure. The second time, he was so matted the vet gave him a "lion cut" and my other cats freaked out because they didn't recognized him! This was back in 2002! When my mom passed away in '03, shortly afterwards I had to surrender him to the shelter, where he was put to sleep because he was sick.

I miss you, Sylvester

This was Sylvester at age 1.

[Name removed]

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