Archive for March, 2015
vocal bola
Who remembers Persian Chinchilla Bola ?
Bola is 5 years old and lives in Preston, Lancashire – although if you didn’t know just how old Bola was, you’d think she was still a kitten.
The first time we visited Bola in the Autumn of last year, her coat was ever so thick and a little knotty underneath. Since that session – when we took away a lot of dead hair – mum reports that Bola has been much more inclined to self groom.
This shows in her coat and was certainly evident during today’s session. Not a knot in sight, which was really pleasing.
Bola isn’t keen on the sessions. She is a strong minded little lady and would rather be doing anything else on her own terms, thank you very much ! However, sessions are getting easier for her and although we still had a lot of choice language today, Bola was much calmer for most of the session.
Well done Bola …. Nice seeing you again little chick !
radiant radek
It was time to call in again to see our friend Persian Radek in Newton le Willows, Merseyside.
As some of you know, Radek was dealt with the most thick, high maintenance coat going and it’s hard work to keep on top of.
Although it’s only a matter of weeks since we last saw Radek, his coat was definitely ready for today’s session. A few sessions ago we decided to keep the undercarriage short to make life easier for all concerned. This helped today, and was a good job as the rest of his coat needed a lot of attention. Saying that, most of the session was a brush out, rather than working through knots and tangles, and this proved easier for Radek. He lay quietly and quite contently throughout the whole session, and just let us get on with it.
Mum Lorraine later said :
“Just had a brilliant session with Sandra and I actually think Radek enjoyed this one. He was that relaxed at one point we thought he had fallen asleep !!! I think, as always, the session was made a lot easier because Sandra is so patient and knows just how to handle him. Thanks again, Sandra xx”
Thanks so much, Lorraine ! It’s shedding time, and lots of dead hair came away – leaving Radek feeling so much lighter and fresher. Good boy Radek … See you again, soon.
gorgeous konnie
We called in on Maine Coon Konnie in Warrington, Cheshire again recently. Konnie is a very hefty lass at 4 years old. Hopefully she’s stopped growing now … ?!
Last time we saw Konnie was a couple of months ago. At that point her coat was quite thin. Mum had been combing but on top of that Konnie had been overgrooming, particularly on her tummy.
Today, Konnie’s coat was a little thicker, but just a light brush out was all that was required.
As ever, Konnie’s behaviour was impeccable. As good as gold ! She rested on the grooming table, and as usual we had a very low growl going on in the background. So low it was almost a hum. The thing is though – Konnie can growl, chill out, close her eyes, smile, enjoy a head fuss and oblige with her limbs all at the same time. She’s very clever is our Konnie !
Nice seeing you again Konnie … Look after yourself !
pixie-bob billy
A big Hello (!) to 10 month old Pixie-bob Billy from Ormskirk, Lancashire.
Billy is just the sweetest little boy you could meet. Mum had called us in to have a look at Billy’s coat as she is quite a novice with cats and wanted to be sure that all was in order. She needn’t have worried. All the combing she does has paid off and Billy’s coat was in great condition.
Billy is a polydactyl, which is a dominant trait for this breed. Cats normally have 5 digits (1 Dew claw and 4 fingers) on each of their front paws, and 4 digits on each of the rear feet. Polydactyls may have as many as 8 on some/all of their feet. Billy just has 1 extra on each front foot. If you look closely at the piccie, you can make out Billy’s misshapen foot.
Although Billy loves a fuss and lots of attention, it’s only when he has 4 feet firmly on the ground. Once on the grooming table he was just a fidget …. but lovely with it !
gentle red
Our friend Siberian (Siberian Forest Cat) Red in Sandbach, Cheshire looked as handsome as ever after his recent grooming session.
Just as the last time we met up, which was only last month, his coat was unbelievably thick and tangly. Of course, he’s just about losing his big winter coat at the moment, but playing out in all weather’s doesn’t help the cause.
The session was quite hard going, but Red knows the score by now. Although he half heartedly protests by trying to do gymnastics at times, we know all the right words to win him over. By the end of the session he’s always so relaxed (and purring) that he enjoys his photo shoot – as he knows that he looks fantastic !
Look after yourself Red … ‘Til next time !
beautiful tabitha
It’s always interesting how a cat reacts during a grooming session. Sometimes not in keeping with what mum or dad expected.
Little Tabitha joined our gang recently. Tabitha is almost 3 years old and lives with her mum in Chester, Cheshire. She has the most lovely colouring and markings, being a Silver Shaded Siberian (Siberian Forest Cat). Siberian tom cats are usually quite large at around 5-6kg (11-13lb), but females are much smaller averaging 4-5kg (9-11lb).
The Siberian coat is believed to possess hypoallergenic qualities. However, rather than making an assumption that all will be well it is generally advised that allergy sufferers check their reactivity directly with the parent cats, from whom they plan to adopt a kitten.
Today was Tabitha’s first professional grooming session and her coat was in a lovely condition. Mum is able to comb frequently and this showed in her coat. There were just one or 2 tangles that had developed, mainly underneath and around the armpits. We gave the rest of TabItha’s coat a comb through to remove dead undercoat.
When we’d arrived, Tabitha had been nervous as she knew something was afoot and stayed on the window bottom, behind the curtain, hoping out of sight out of mind ! However, once on the grooming table, Tabitha was as good as gold. Mum had thought that it would be quite a vocal session, but not a muff was made. Calm, gentle and compliant was little Tabitha whilst we got to work and she really wasn’t afraid of the clippers or the comb.
Mum Helen later told us
“Hi Sandra, thanks for yesterday. I got a very vocal telling off after you left and Tabitha prowled the whole house, I think she was checking you weren’t hiding, waiting to give her another going over! Even the prawns waited till she was done! The session went much better than I expected, she’s such a timid girl! Although I wouldn’t say she enjoyed the first meeting, you managed to keep us both calm and I’m sure she feels better for having those knots removed. She’s definitely looking good and has been very active and purry. I’m sure Tabitha will be looking forward to our next session xhx”
A really enjoyable session all round, and a big applause for Tabitha. Well done chicky !
gorgeous holly
Holly in Padiham, Lancashire asked us to call in to take a look at her coat again. Holly’s now 5 years old and has a lovely, long thick black coat.
She is such a sweetie. However, she does like to chat …. and chat …. and chat. We heard all the local gossip and now know all there is to know about Padiham and who’s doing what !
Holly takes good care of her coat, and there was just a small area underneath that needed attention, followed by a good brush out elsewhere.
Well used to her sessions now, Holly knows that she always feels like a million dollars afterwards !
Such a good girl, Holly ! See you again soon !
kizzy kitty
A new girl on the block. Kizzy from Liverpool !
We met up with Kizzy, as her coat had become too much to manage and had developed some tight mats that needed to be removed. As well as that, the rest of the coat was too difficult to save. So, we decided it would be best all round to give Kizzy a fresh start.
At 6 years old, Persian Kizzy isn’t too keen on being brushed and previously has needed sedation when being clipped. However, we thought we’d see if a home session would work for Kizzy, and she fared very well.
It was obvious that Kizzy wasn’t struck on the idea and was extremely vocal and fidgety, but we managed to remain sufficiently calm as to begin working through her enormous coat. We took the worst of the mats away on her top and sides, and began working on the armpits – then decided to resume the session on another day. Kizzy was much calmer at that point, and we worked underneath to make her comfy.
Following the session, dad John said :
“we had a visit from Sandra yesterday to groom my little Persian girl Kizzy. Kizzy was pretty matted on her sides and underneath her chest. I knew that we had a challenge on our hands a she’s not that fond of being pampered. I couldn’t believe on how good she really was and she let Sandra brush and clip her, she was a little fidgety in parts but very good most of the time. What an excellent service from EssentiallyPurrfect. Kizzy will now be looking forward to her next visit”
It was really pleasing that we were able to help Kizzy. Well done girly !
friendly fudge
Our friend Fudge is now 20 years old ! If you didn’t know, you’d never guess !
Fudge still enjoys life in his neck of the woods in Astley, Greater Manchester. He loves playing out out and keeps an eye on those squirrels in the garden.
We call on Fudge regularly to keep his nails in trim. Although, as we said, he still plays out he doesn’t do much climbing etc to keep those nails worn down. So he needs a little help …
Fudge is quite a nervous guy and the first time we met up he was very anxious about proceedings. However, as sessions have occurred and he knows the script he really has learnt that there’s nothing to worry about.
He’s still not keen on the idea, but once he’s sat on the grooming table he listens to sweet talk whilst the dirty deed is done. Less than 2 minutes later it’s all over and he’s back on the sofa, lapping up all the fuss and attention he can get !
Lovely seeing you again, Fudge !
lovely herbie
Maine Coon Herbie in Warrington, Cheshire has definitely grown a lot since we first met him 18 months ago. At that point he was Large. Now, at 3 and a half years old, he’s definitely X-Large – or maybe a bit bigger !
Herbie’s coat is always ready for a good work through. Also, he tends to get a little knotted underneath and sometimes around the rear end.
He’s not keen on being brushed, although he tolerates it with mum to an extent. However, he really doesn’t like the discipline of a formal session – and tells us very much so, in his own words ! He is intelligent enough to know what’s going on though, and we’re sure he feels so much better for it afterwards.
See you soon, Herbie !
