mr teddy bear

We recently met up with the lovely Mr Teddy Bear again in Connah’s Quay, Deeside, Wales.  Mr Teddy Bear is a Cream Long Haired Exotic and he is now 19 months old.

It’s 4 months since we last visited.  That was our first session and Mr Teddy Bear chose a Lion Clip as his extremely long, thick coat was weighing him down – both in body and spirit.

Today, Mr TB’s coat hadn’t fully regrown, but once again it was awfully thick and becoming difficult to manage again.  So, we decided it was time to clip him back again.

Just as last time, Mr TB was a perfect gent.  We are sure he realised what was going on and as the session went on he was definitely smiling !

Afterwards Mr TB was almost swanking around – and he was definitely enjoying his treats, for being a good boy.  It was a really nice, calm session and Mr TB is a pleasure to meet up with.

Why don’t you pop over to our facebook page and see a video clip of Mr Teddy Bear.

After the session, mum Kirsty said :

“Another great visit, an incredibly happy cat and satisfied owner !  Our neighbour got the shock of his life when a lion strolled into his kitchen one Saturday morning ! He’s quite the celebritiy in our street now xxx”

Well done Mr TB with your curly wurly tail !

friendly fudge

Our Fudge really is the sweetest chap you could meet.  He enjoys his life.  Mooching around the garden, and living with his mum and dad in Astley, Greater Manchester.

We called in again to meet up with Fudge as it was time for a pedicure and a quick look at his coat.

Fudge is a nervous guy by nature but it’s really pleasing that each session is noticeably easier for him.  Today – although we’d guess he would rather have been playing out – he sat quietly and calmly for the most part.  After we’d clipped his nails, we had a quick comb through his upper body as he was developing a few tufty areas.

How old is Fudge ??  19 years old !!  You’d never have guessed, would you ?

Well done Fudge … See you again in a few months chick !

miss bola

We recently met up again with Bola, a 5 year old Silver Shaded Persian Chinchilla in Preston, Lancashire.

Bola is such a sweet little girl – but boy, does she like to chat.  Meow meow meow meow meow.  She must have had a sore throat by the end of the session !

Last time we saw Bola we took away some small areas of her coat which had become knotted.  Today the hair was growing back very nicely and not a knot in sight.  It was lovely to see that mum and Bola have kept on top of her thick coat very well.

Although Bola wasn’t too keen on the idea of a brush out, she obviously remembered the last session and she was less fidgety and more compliant.

Come over to our facebook page where you can see a short video clip of Bola, just after her grooming session.

Well done Miss Bola … We’ll see you again in a few weeks time chick !

gorgeous eric

We called in to see 13 year old Eric again, in Preston, Lancashire, for his maintenance groom.  Eric is a nervous cat, but today when we arrived he let us approach him for a welcome.  He had a good sniff and we had a little head fondle !

We see Eric on a fairly regular basis, but his coat was really ready for a brush out again.  We removed one or 2 tangles, mainly underneath, and brushed out the rest of his coat.

During the summer, Eric’s colouring is black with a brown tinge around his ruff and pantaloon areas.  Today however, his coat colouring really had changed in preparation for the autumn/winter months.  The brown tinge is now a shimmering grey, and is really striking.

As ever, Eric wasn’t too keen on proceeding but we take the session easy with him and with lots of sweet talk we had a pleasant session.  We know which areas in particular are difficult for Eric, so we tailor the session accordingly.

Afterwards – Well, you should have seen Eric strutting around his garden.  He knew he looked mighty fine !

Really well done, Eric !

beautiful daisy

This is Daisy , a beautiful cream Ragdoll who is approaching her 2nd birthday.  The photo on the left was taken a few weeks ago, with Daisy’s coat looking well maintained.  However, recent harsh weather took it’s toll, and resulted in tangles and knots becoming larger mats which required attention, particularly around the chest, tummy and hind areas.  We saved the hair where possible by teasing out, but some areas needed to be clipped away.  The result was fantastic, leaving Daisy with a much easier to manage coat which we’re sure she is truly grateful for !   Here’s Daisy relaxing on the blue grooming table, after the session.

Mum Alison from Worsley, Nr Manchester says

“My lovely little Ragdoll Daisy has had a fun packed winter playing in the snow, chasing squirrels up trees and rolling around in the leaves but all this play had left  her with a knotted and matted coat.  I was very worried that day by day the knots were getting worse so I called in the help of Sandra.   All I can say is that Sandra did a brilliant job, she had amazing patience with Daisy who was not impressed with being clipped.  Sandra spent a long  time on Daisy’s coat and what a difference.  Daisy looks and feels beautiful, very soft and silky.  Sandra has an amazing approach to her work with total professionalism and kindness at all times. I would very much recommend  Sandra and will be using her grooming skills every few months to keep on top of my Daisy’s coat.”

For us at EssentiallyPurrfect, it’s lovely receiving such positive feedback.  Thank you, Alison.  It was a pleasure meeting and working with Daisy.

fantastic figment

We recently met up again with Figment in Bolton, Manchester.

Figment is a Persian Cross and as such has a very thick, long coat.  She is no longer able to tend to it herself – as she’ll be 22 years old in March !

Figment’s coat was extremely matted all around her back and lower regions, and ad-hoc elsewhere.  She lets mum comb her ruff and around her head to some extent, but everywhere else is a no-go zone.

We took the sessions real easy with Figment and broke them into manageable timeframes for her.  Overall we clipped away a large section of the coat.

Even though Figment has seen younger years, she still has all her faculties about her.  We’re sure she remembered our visit this time last year – and that she’d felt so much better afterwards.  She was much more mellow and co-operative this time around and lay patiently whilst we tackled those hard to reach areas underneath.  As an older lady, Figment’s skin really is like tissue paper, so it was no easy task.

This piccie of Figment was taken about 4 weeks after her lower back and flanks had been clipped.  You can see her coat is already growing back at a speed and is quite fluffy at the moment.  Mum is going to do her best to comb these areas whilst they are still tangle free.  Figment – please oblige !!

After the session, mum and dad Christine and Andy said :

“Thank you Sandra, for being so patient with our little old lady Figment.  I don’t know how, but you have the knack of totally relaxing her.  Once again she is like a spring chicken after her groom !  Thank you again x”

the knutsford bengals

Meet Josephine and Napoleon !  These 2 Bengal housemates are both 8 years old, and ex-breeding cats.  They’ve now lived with their new dad in Knutsford, Cheshire for around 2 years.

Napoleon, pictured right, is a Brown Marbled Bengal, whilst Josephine on the left is is Brown Spotted Bengal. Apologies for the piccies being a little blurred.

They are house cats, since an unfortunate incident with a car and have adapted perfectly to the new arrangement.

Fit, healthy cats that spend a lot of time outside generally naturally wear down their claws sufficiently.

However, indoor or elderly cats may need to have their claws trimmed regularly.  Also, some cats have an extra toe (polydactyl) which doesn’t touch the ground (just like the normal dew claw) and may overgrow.  If overgrown claws aren’t trimmed they can grow inwards into the pad and can be painful, and become infected.

Neither Josephine nor Napoleon were keen on the idea of a pedicure !  We worked with Napoleon first.  He’s a strong boy and he did his best to leave the situation.  Josephine was a little easier to work with as although quite a large girl, she succumbed a little easier.

Immediately after their sessions they were topping up at the filling station.

sweety sophie

This little lady is 9 months old cream Persian, Sophie. Remember her ?

It was nice to meet up with Sophie again today in Burnley, Lancashire. It’s only a matter of weeks since we last saw her, and mum has been brushing. However, Sophie’s coat really is high maintenance and requires a strict schedule to keep on top of it.

The coat was a little knotty in places, and required a good brush out. It was quite tough going in places, where it was tangly and brushable so ophie did well. She’s still only a baby really, and is still learning about the process. It’s important to introduce your cat to being groomed whilst at a young age.

After the session, Sophie was very interested once again in all the equipment and bags. Very nosey !

Well done Sophie, see you soon ….

did you know … ?

When walking, cats use a ‘pacing’ gait. This means they move both legs on one side of their body, then the two legs on the other side – which is uncommon in most mammals.

However as cats speed up to a trot or a run, the gait becomes the more common ‘diagonal’ (opposite foreleg and hind legs moving at the same time).

zebedee

Who remembers 14 year old Zebedee ?  Zebedee lives in Altrincham, Cheshire with his dad.

As on our previous visit, when we arrived Zebedee was ever so friendly, and came to meet and greet.  Zebedee is blind.  He lost his sight last year.  Before the session, we talked to him, and had a stroke before getting on with the job in hand.

Zebedee goes out in the back garden, but doesn’t play out like he used to.  It’s about 4 months since we last met up and his nails were in need of a trim as they were extremely long and sharp.  Trips to the vets surgery are difficult as Zebedee becomes distressed in the car.  However, he fared really well during today’s session and it was over before he knew it.

Have you ever known a cat to enjoy his medication ?  Well, Zebedee does !  He takes the tablet right out of dad’s hand and eats it up !  Come over to our facebook page where you can see a short video clip of Zebedee in action, taking his pill.