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!

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 

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!

Monica did her thing again at the APF show in Atlanta in March.  She walked that runway like a pro and held her own with the other 19 contestants, all of which were dogs of varying sizes.

As we were lined up outside the main ballroom before the show, several people came up to take pictures of Monica and asked, “What kind of dog is that?”  At first I thought they must be joking.  But no.  All such questions were said in complete seriousness.  This was a trade show for groomers, mind you.  Apparently we need some classes on how to recognize different species of animals, namely dogs and cats.

This just confirms to me that the grooming world is a dog’s world.  Cats are not thought to be a part of it.  If a cat is present, it is considered some sort of rare dog breed.

One thing is for sure……I’ve got my work cut out for me.

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

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!

The Chicago All-American hosted the first ever Abstract Creative Runway competition.  I “participated” with a cat.  I say “participated” because I was ineligible for competition because show rules state that speakers cannot compete.  But I find it hard to pass up on an opportunity to walk a runway with a kitty in tow

C2, my solid white Persian, was crafted into a black and white design and did a great job hanging with the big dogs and working the stage on Saturday night of the show.  I am proud of her.

The rules called for some sort of abstract design with little or no color.  The design had to be something that could be done in a day at the salon and something that customers would like done on their dog or cat.  No props were to be used.

Photo shoot after the Runway Competition

C2's abstract design

Some other entries

Being interviewed by Huber