We had a couple of cats in today for our CFMG Refresher Course that have previously been turned away from other grooming salons in the area. Two Maine Coons. Both matted. One displaying highly aggressive behavior as soon as he was brought into the school.  He even started attacking his brother who was in the same carrier with him.

The owner was nervous about leaving her boys. Why? Because she was too used to getting that dreaded phonecall within 30 minutes of dropping the cats off at the groomers. “Come get your cats. We can’t groom them.”

But guess what?  We got ‘em done! Yes indeed! Completely de-matted and looking fantastic and all without injury or harm to anyone involved.  Now how awesome is that?  Hope for the hopeless.  Help for the matted.  Aw yes, we are saving the world one cat at a time.

At the NCGIA we have fun with cat grooming!  And why not?  If you’re gonna risk life and limb taking a pair of clippers to a cat, why not make it worth your while?

This past weekend I had the pleasure of conducting the first ever creative cat grooming lecture series…..at least as far as I know.  I’ve never heard of anyone doing a creative cat lecture before.  I did a two-part series at the Chicago All American Grooming Show with the first part including the application of semi-permanent color.  Immediately after the first lecture I rushed my wonderful cat, Monica, off to the mobile grooming unit for a quick bath and blow-dry and then returned later that afternoon to demonstrate carving out the design with clippers and putting on the final touches.

Fortunately for me the design turned out just as I had hoped.  One thing I’ve learned with creative grooming is that you have to be flexible.  Very flexible.  And when you do it live in front of a crowd, you have to be flexible while looking like you know exactly what you are doing.  No matter what the outcome you’ve got to make it look like it was all part of your master plan.  I got lucky this time and my master plan unfolded pretty much how I had hoped.  Whew!

If you missed it and want to see for yourself how Monica got her fancy little flower garden, you can sign up for the free trial of Learn2Groomcats.com (it will take you to Learn2GroomDogs.com – same site, different name, only because we like cats better. hehe).  Both parts of the lecture/demo were taped and are available online through Learn2Groom.

As if that weren’t enough fancy cat hair buzzing for one weekend, I decided to make sure their was a cat walking the Abstract Runway again this year.  I wasn’t planning on doing the runway. I can’t compete and had enough to do already.  It just seemed like extra work without any real benefits.  But what I hadn’t figured on was the fact that attendees really WANTED to see a cat on the Runway.

While drying Monica Saturday morning, I was approached several times by people asking if we were going to be in the Runway again.  ”No,” I said, “Not this year.” Sad faces and disappointment ensued.  Well, how could I let everyone down? Fortunately I brought another cat with me who just happened to be suitable for a creative design. And, as luck would have it, I had a semi-nice outfit I could put together (minus the shoes – but, as it turned out, barefoot worked out just fine for the occasion.)

I patterned C2’s design after the design in my shirt, only doing an inverse version with the colors.  We located a piece of silver ribbon somewhere amongst our gear and fashioned a makeshift harness/leash for her and VIOLA!  An Abstract Runway entry ready to walk in the spotlight.

I’m thankful to have some wonderful cats to work with.  My girls are very special to me and trust me enough to do anything I ask of them while executing everything to absolute purr-fection.  I couldn’t do any of this without them!

Launching soon!  Be one of the first to sign up!

We are so excited to be a part of this new, exciting opportunity for pet stylists around the world.  Melissa Verplank and the Paragon Team are launching the Learn2GroomCats/Learn2GroomDogs streaming video website that will be host to an ever-growing collection of grooming videos from leading industry experts.  For less than the cost of a single dvd, pet groomers can sign up for membership and have access to hundreds of training dvds covering all sorts of topics.

I will be speaking at the Chicago All-American this weekend.  All 4 of my lectures will be taped and available on the Learn2Groom site very soon!

The site will makes it debut at the All-American and is set to be up and running very soon. Right now you can sign up to be notified when it is fully functional.  It’s definitely worth checking out!

I need your help!  I’m planning out future lecture topics and would love to hear from you all. Tell me what you’d like to hear about most of all (no dog topics please – I know nothing).

So……….

Email danelle@nationalcatgroomers.com with your ideas on future topics.

At last!  Wahl has done it yet again. They’ve made me a clipper I simply can’t live without. This time it is the Pro LT trimmer that does amazing things on cat hair to allow me the opportunity to create the most creative of designs.

Lindsay and I have been using the Pro LT demo model for some time now to achieve the detail work you’ve seen on many of our creative cats.  At our recent workshop, the students were passing around my one demo model of this most amazing trimmer, each getting a taste it’s unique performance.

I’m sure there are all sorts of wonderful technical qualities about this clipper that Wahl would love for me to share. But all I need to know is can it cut a straight line in cat hair and will it allow me to do fine detail work.  Yes!  It does all of that better than any trimmer I have yet to try.

So for those who have pre-ordered their new Pro LT trimmers, they are on their way to you this week.  And for those who want to buy some for themselves, call us and we’ll get you taken care of.  The first couple cases come with some nifty carry cases – a promo offered by Wahl.

I can’t wait to use these in my creative cat lectures at the upcoming Chicago and Dallas shows!! See you there!

In case you guys hadn’t heard, it is the YEAR OF THE CAT! Ya! That means there are millions of cats out there needing to be professionally groomed and very few groomers exist who are WILLING and ABLE to groom them. So what are you going to do about that?

Well, as luck would have it, I am teaching 2 different series on cat grooming at the Pet Pro Classic this year. One covers regular cat grooming. The how’s and why’s – everything from how to handle those feisty kitties to grooming them to purr-fection. Yes, cats DO need baths and they need them frequently. If you aren’t bathing them then you aren’t grooming them correctly. Come and hear the reasons why. I will teach you how to handle even the most aggressive of felines and give it a full groom.

I also cover breeds, colors and coat types. Would you groom a dog without knowing what breed or color it is? How about what type of coat it has? These are important factors in determining the proper way to groom a cat. Not only that, but if the client knows more than you do about the animal you are grooming, then there’s a problem. YOU are the expert! Know your stuff!

Also get the scoop on how to build your cat grooming biz. You can be the best cat groomer for miles around but if no one knows about you, then you are not realizing your full potential. I’ve been there, done that – built the 2500+ client feline-exclusive grooming salon AND helped other groomers get started doing the same! Come hear the best ways to market yourself and your amazing cat wrangling skills. Not only will you have clients coming from hours away to utilize your services, but you’ll also be piling up that dirty cat hair to sell for $113 per pound (for those Certified Feline Master Groomers)!

If that doesn’t satisfy your cravings, stick around for the Creative Cat Grooming lecture series. (more live demos!) Learn how to offer a great add-on service and increase your bottom line. AND get a jump start on your creative skills so you can enter the Creative Cat Competition at next year’s Pet Pro Classic!! (more details on that later!)

Both series are part of the Certificate of Completion program (you get a certificate for attending all 4 parts of either series).
AND the PPC has graciously provided testing times for us to offer both Practicals and Writtens. Most shows do not provide an area for performing Practicals. This is a rare opportunity for YOU! So take advantage of it! At the NCGIA we get daily phone calls and emails asking us to bring the Practicals to YOU. So here’s your chance. If you do not live on the East Coast, then Dallas is closer to you than SC is. We can accommodate another 1 or 2 examinees for Practicals. So sign up now (via calling the NCGIA or online via the website).

The NCGIA will be giving away 1 ULTIMATE CAT GROOMER ENCYCLOPEDIA through a drawing of all who attend either lecture series. ($80 retail value – but worth a whole LOT more!)

Remember all NCGIA members can get discounted registration for the PPC and can attend the ISCC members-only partayyyy! You can sign up for those through the PPC.

And then there’s the Creative Runway. You’ll just have to come and see for yourself. (this year a cat will also be walking the runway, for the first time ever…….and you can hear me sing. hehe……that’s all I’m gonna say about that!)

If all of that isn’t enough reason enough to come, I don’t know what is 

We just wrapped another successful school session whereby 5 groomers left with their CFMG certificates in hand.  We topped off the 2 week course with a 2-day creative cat workshop.  This was the first time we hosted a workshop at the school that was something different than our normal 2 week school session.  I am pleased to say it was a great success!

The students had great cats to work on and could do whatever designs they wanted.  The class started with instruction and demo time and then the next part of the class involved the students doing their own creative designs on a variety of cats.  Many of the cats had already been prepped for creative before hand.  A few needed their “foundation” fixed just a bit before getting into the fun stuff.

By the end, we had over a dozen creatively designed cats with their own unique artwork.  Most coloring was semi-permanent with a little Blo-Pen or Sprayza providing the finishing touches.  Clipper work involved a variety of trimmers, with the students able to try different ones and decide which worked best for them.

You can be sure we’ll do another creative cat workshop before the year is through! Be sure to check our Events calendar for that date as well as some of the other workshops we have planned, including a CFMG Refresher Course, a cat show exhibitor workshop, and a CFA Cattery Certification class for inclusion in the Dirty Hair Project.

Here are photos of some of the finished cats. Click on a thumbnail to see the full photo.

Cat grooming is a novelty.  I’ve known this for a long time because I hear the responses when people ask what I do.  ”I groom cats,”  I used to tell them.  ”You do WHAT?” they ask, eyes wide.  Now when I am asked what I do for a living I just say, “You wouldn’t believe me if I told you.”  Of course this makes the person even more curious.

You see, these days I don’t just groom cats, but I teach others how to groom them.  Most people think this is the strangest job they can imagine.  And maybe it is.  But I love it and wouldn’t have it any other way.

So the cool thing about professional cat grooming being so novel and strange is that it garners some great publicity.  The news media doesn’t usually get super excited about average vocations such as web designing or waiting tables at a local restaurant.  But they do stand up and take notice when they think through what it must be like to actually groom a cat. I can always envision the thoughts running through their mind when they think of the practicalities of bathing and power drying a live cat. People typically look at my hands and forearms at this point.  Looking for scabs and scars, no doubt.

So yesterday we had the pleasure of having both the Greenville News and Fox Carolina News come out to the school and photograph, tape, and interview the students, Lindsay, and myself.  All of the news people were fascinated by the fact that the students were actually soaping up and bathing cats in the mini-tubs and then HV drying them in the Catty Shack Vacs. They watched as some less-than-agreeable kitties were given lion cuts which ended up in an ultra-smooth, suede-like finish.  The students did an excellent job of both wrangling and grooming their charges.  The news people were impressed.

I will admit that it’s fun to have a vocation that is just slightly weird enough to get some great PR.  I love my job!

Yeah, they do!

Lindsay and I just had the amazing opportunity to compete in the Creative Competition held at the Knoxville Pet Stylists Super Show this past weekend. Now keep in mind that the competitions have always been for dogs……at least until recently.

Ann Stafford of the Atlanta Pet Fair was so kind to allow me to “participate” in the Creative Competition at her show in 2009. For the first time a cat was groomed in-ring and presented. I couldn’t compete because of a pesky little rule tucked away somewhere whereby speakers were not eligible for competition.  I did it for fun and exposure and to simply show that it COULD be done.

I participated again at the APF, this time with a dog and a cat. The competition was presentation only – all grooms being done out-of-ring.  This, of course, is easier on the competitors, but doesn’t give the public a chance to see the grooming that goes on before hand (of which there is a LOT!)  Again, I was a speaker (for which I was most honored to be), so that meant another “participation” and no winning of any kind.  But I do admit it gave me a just a hint of wondering if I could cut the mustard, so to speak.  Especially since this 2nd time around I added a Standard Poo to the mix.  This was the first dog I had ever groomed. I know nothing of dog grooming, but I figured it was Creative Styling so what did I have to mess up, right?

As luck would have it, the show in Knoxville has no speaker-can’t-compete-rules so here I was faced with my first opportunity to really get in there and see how my grooms (on both dog and cat) would stack up to the competition. This is what I learned:  They stacked up pretty nicely.

I won first place in the First Timer’s Division (since I was a first time competitor) AND BEST OVERALL CREATIVE! What an honor!  What fun.

I learned I couldn’t pull off my intended grooms on both my Poo and my Persian in the allotted time frame.  So plan B had to be put in place.  Since there was no plan B before the competition began, I had to formulate one right there with only a minute or two left on the time clock. It all worked out in the end though. I am so happy and really enjoyed the pressure, excitement, and fun of it all.  I will say those creative groomers are a great bunch to hang with.  They all do such amazing work.

And I am proud to announce that Lindsay pulled a 2nd Place First Timer Award for her amazing job on two of her cats.  I will let her tell that story and post her own pics though.  I am proud of you, Linz!

I want to say a big “Thank You!” to Christine DeFilippo for hosting the Feline Fantasy Creative Cat Groom competition at Intergroom in April.  What a great thing for us cat groomers!  Finally a little time in the ring for the felines.

I had the pleasure of judging this event which meant I didn’t get a chance to take pictures.  Once the final photos of the winners are out I’ll see if I can’t get my hands on some to post here. But for now, let me just say that it was neat to see what the competitors did to their fancy felines.  I was impressed!

I was also pleased to see a couple of our NCGIA members in the mix of competitors.  Keep it up, guys. There will be more cat competitions in the future. I promise!