Meet Crazy and Trustin.  GC, GP Manazakat’s Call Me Crazy of Bara is my kitty.  Grandpointed PR Cotnhill’s Trustin belongs to Lindsay.

The two boys had never met before the Hershey show.

But as you can clearly see, they became instant close friends. Almost too close, really.  Passersby always marvel at how well they sit on the table all weekend, unbothered by the noise, the commotion, the dog, the people……..but Lindz and I were amazed at how well they buddied up to each other and lay there side by side, so picture purrfect in every way.

I have concluded that this is what happens when cat whisperer’s get their hands on any cats…..they turn them into pussies.

We survived another year at Hershey Groom Expo, the USA’s largest grooming tradeshow ever.  Being surrounded by chocolate is never a bad thing.  And being in the middle of the all the hubbub of the grooming industry is never bad either, especially when you are working hard to make some changes in the grooming industry.

My first foray into the tradeshow arena was Hershey Groom Expo 2006.  I was minding my own business, happily grooming cats in little Simpsonville, SC when one day a Groomer To Groomer magazine arrived in my mailbox.  Low and behold, a grooming magazine!  Who would have thought?  It was August 2006 and Barkleigh was heavy into promoting the upcoming Groom Expo.  Not only was I amazed that there was actually a magazine for groomers, but that there was a tradeshow to go along with it. Little did I know that was only tip of the iceberg.

At the last minute I packed up my vehicle and headed north to PA, thinking I’d visit my first ever tradeshow and stockpile some nifty cat grooming products and tools.  After all, while I had been very active in the cat showing world, I was oblivious to the grooming world and figured they just had to have some new things I had not yet tried.  Being the type of person that is always in pursuit of newer and better, imagine my dismay when I discovered that in all that big huge trade showhall at Hershey Lodge nothing “cat” could be found. It was all dog.  Dog this, dog that, and more dog that.  I was ticked.  I was offended.  What bias, I thought. What gall!

Well, things always happen for a reason.  Fast forward a year later……Hershey Groom Expo 2007. My first industry speaking gig, and the first debut of the NCGIA.  It took a lot of work and a lot of talking, but here we are now, the world’s first and foremost cat grooming association made just for professional cat groomers.  The response to our training, certification program, teaching tools, and organization as a whole has totally blown me away!  I am in awe!

And I thank each and every one of you who have invested your time and resources into making yourself a better cat groomer.  I truly appreciate all of our members, our instructors, and those in the industry who have let me step up onto the dog sidewalk and pave a way for cats, at last.  I joke that my mission in life is “saving the world one cat at a time.”  I’m beginning to think it’s not really a joke after all.

Finally.  I could enter a grooming show contest that I was actually eligible to compete in. And I won!
Okay, so it wasn’t a grooming contest, per se.  But it was a contest.

I entered the Groomers Got Talent contest at the Hershey Groom Expo and won 1st place for a song I wrote.  Despite the fact that my voice was coarse, scratchy and almost gone the night before and still quite raspy the next morning, I was able to squeak out the song.  A few of the notes were a bit ragged, but hey………what can I say.

And to think I almost bailed on the whole thing right before it started.

Thanks for letting me brag a bit.  It’s just that I either find myself at shows (like Barkleigh shows) where I can’t compete in any competitions just because they are biased against cats.  Or I am able to “participate” in a competition, without the option to actually compete or win anything, because of one of those pesky show rules about speakers not being able to compete.  So for now….I am basking in my trophy and my new “diamond” ring prize, and the fact that Mr. B’s Productions whisked me away to their nearby recording studio to cut a single!

This groomer’s got talent, baby!

My Lifelong Dream – click to listen

Okay, here’s the scoop……The Dirty Hair Project – Helping People Breathe.

If you are a graduate of the NCGIA training and earn your CFMG certification, you will then be eligible to participate in the Dirty Hair Project.

Simply put, this means you will qualify to sell the dirty hair you collect while grooming cats for $113 per pound!  That’s right!  $113 per pound for dirty cat hair!  Who would’ve thought your dirty cat hair would be so valuable?  Imagine, something you would normally dispose of in the trash will now be worth its weight in gold!

As a CFMG you will be provided with the necessary paperwork to sell your cat hair to a lab we’ve been working with.  The folks at the lab use the dirty cat hair to extract the dander for making allergy shots for humans.  They are in need of lots of dirty cat hair.

Because of FDA regulations, each cat hair shipment must be accompanied by a signed health certificate.  Until recently, only a vet who had inspected every cat who donated hair to the pile, could sign the health certificate.  Now, however, the training and certification program through the NCGIA has been approved so that all who complete the training and obtain their CFMG title can sign their own health certificate.

We are excited about this project on so many levels.  Just think, the money you invest in your training and certification can now be recouped by selling your dirty cat hair for $110 per pound?  What could be better?

PS.  stay tuned………we will be bringing you the first NCGIA Grooming School in the very near future!!  We are interest forms for the first session in Feb 2010.  If you wish to enroll or learn more about it, let us know~

Hershey is less than a week away!  I am excited as we gear up for the biggest grooming show of the year.

This year I will not be speaking, which is sort of a relief.  I am usually so overly busy at this show that I come home completely wiped out.  Since my schedule isn’t quite so full this year we will be able to do some booth demos with live cats – something I’ve wanted to do every year. In addition, I’ll be doing my usual demos in the Wahl booth.

At the NCGIA booth, we will be showing some live cats before their groom.  Then we’ll run downstairs to give them a good show bath before bringing them back up to the booth to dry using the CS Vac. As we perform all the finish work, observers will be able to pick up some handling techniques and cat-specific product usage tricks.

A few cats will then go with me to the Wahl booth for some clipper work while I do a standard lion cut, a creative groom, and whatever else suits my fancy at that particular time.

Something new this year at the show is the “Got Talent” competition on Saturday.  It is a luncheon event.  I took the plunge and decided to enter.  If you want to know what my entry is, you’ll have to come see for yourself.  I promise it will make you laugh even if I don’t mess it up royally.

See you there!

This is not a joke, I can assure you.  Exciting things are in the works for NCGIA members and especially for those who are certified!!  All I can say for now is that you should all save every shred of DIRTY CAT HAIR that you collect during grooming.  It has to be dirty.  No clean, freshly bathed hair accepted.  And yes it can have mats, tangles, and dandruff in it.

Just bag it up and set it aside. Add to it every chance you get!  Don’t worry, it won’t age or get old or become useless….at least not for what we are going to do with it.

When the time is right …hopefully soon…..I will tell you why you saved it up.  You will be amazed. Sometimes icky, dirty things are worth their weight in gold. Literally.