smokey lou
Meet Smokey. Smokey is a 19 year old Maine Coon who lives in Preston, Lancashire. Yes, you heard right. 19 !! Which is an incredible age for a Maine Coon. He’s obviously led a very pampered life !
Mum brushes Smokey, but his coat had become thick and clumpy and really it was better if a large part of it was clipped back for a fresh start. This was particularly the case underneath and on his sides.
Smokey fared very well. He can be a little grumpy on occasions, we were told, but he laid patiently whilst we set to work. We took it very gently with him and split his session. This was for his comfort – and to give part of his coat the chance to regrow, rather than leaving him without a substantial amount of hair. Although he spends most of his time in the house (he just potters in the garden now and then), the weather has now turned and his is 19 years old after all ! Mum and dad have bought Smokey a little jumper to keep him warm whilst his coat regrows.
We’ve just heard that Smokey has injured his hind leg, which is hampering his mobility at the moment. He’s going to go back to the doctor’s for another check up. We wish you well Smokey, and a speedy recovery young man !
kitten initiation
A look back at a session from Feb 13 ….
Here is lovely Leela from Manchester, who has just experienced her first groom at 15 weeks old.
She has had her nails clipped for the very first time, and has enjoyed a gentle brushing session. Leela was given the chance to explore the tools (a good sniff, pawing and some chewing !) before learning she needed to settle down to be brushed / combed.
Leela is a British Short Hair (British Blue) and at the moment her hair is quite short. However, as she grows this will become a dense coat, which will require brushing out to avoid matting. The earlier a cat / kitten is introduced to being groomed and it becomes part of the normal routine, the better for all concerned.
lovely louie
Say a biiiiig Hello to Louie. Louie is a cream and brown 9 year old Persian who lives with his housemates and mum in Crewe, Cheshire.
It’s fair to say that Louie has landed on his feet, after he chose his new mum whilst he was living at a cat rescue shelter. Louie, along with his feline and canine housemates are all adored.
When Louie arrived at his new home he was very nervous, and hated being groomed. It has taken mum lots of dedicated, tender 1:1 time to give Louie the confidence and manner he has today. When we arrived it took Louie just a couple of minutes before he decided to come into the room and check us and the equipment out. A very friendly boy.
Mum was a little apprehensive before the session began, as Louie has never been professionally groomed before. However, he took to it like a duck to water and sat patiently whilst we tended to his nails and his coat. Just one or 2 small areas that needed extra attention on his coat and a good brush out (see the hair that came away). His lower legs and feet were particularly clumpy, as Louie doesn’t really like his mum to work on those areas – but he is very tolerant of the rest, and mum combs him twice a day, every day.
As the session went on we think that Louie not only sat patiently – he was enjoying the fuss !
A couple of days after the session, mum Sheila said :
“Louie is so relaxed after his groom. He keeps going back into the room where we had the session and I think he’s missing you, he’s looking for you. My friend came around yesterday and she remarked on how beautiful Louie looks. I really am delighted, you’ve done a lovely job. I really like the comb I got from you too, it’s superb. I began combing Louie this morning – and told him we had to do it as that lady will be checking up on us !”
Well done Louie – you were such a good boy. Looking forward already to seeing you again for your Spring brush out.
did you know … ?
By the time they are 6 months old, cats have their adult set of 30 teeth – 16 on top and 14 at the bottom – and each type of tooth plays an important role. The 30 teeth are made up of :
Incisors (12). These are the very small teeth at the front. Minimal use, but are used to hold prey and for grooming.
Canines (4). These are the long teeth, 2 top and 2 bottom. Used to kill and shred prey
Pre-Molars (10). Used for chewing (cutting through meat and bone)
Molars (4). Again, used for chewing (through meat and bone)
See Illy’s canines and incisors ? Aren’t they a fine set !
lady kiki
Who remembers Kiki from Wilmslow, Cheshire ? Kiki is a 2 year old Ragdoll.
It’s 2 or 3 months since we last met up with Kiki. That had been her first session with us and we were able to remove a lot of dead hair that was sitting in her coat.
Today dad said that that session was timely as Kiki was beginning to noticeably moult on the furniture again.
Kiki wasn’t keen to find herself on the grooming table again. Her coat was knot free so we were only brushing out but Kiki wasn’t in the mood for reasoning. We did remove a good deal of dead hair and as soon as the session was over, Kiki was all smiles again.
You’ll definitely feel better for it Kiki !
lucy lou
We called into to see Lucy again in Tyldesley, Wigan, Greater Manchester. Lucy is 4 years old and has now been with her new mum and dad for 4 months.
As we reported at the last visit, Lucy is quite a timid little girl and it has taken some time for her to start to build trust and feel at home in her new surroundings. There’s not too much known about her history, so mum and dad have taken it slowly – at Lucy’s pace. It’s working, as Lucy has really come on in leaps and bounds in terms of her confidence.
Today, Lucy’s coat was quite thin with hardly any shedding and didn’t need much attention. Her nails on the other hand were extremely long and sharp and she was starting to get caught on the rug and furniture. Although Lucy wasn’t keen on the idea, we clipped them back and now she’ll no doubt find getting about much easier. With house cats, and cats that are older or poorly it’s important to keep an eye on their nails to make sure that they are not overgrowing (the nail can grow right around and pierce the pad).
Following the session, Thembi and Colin said :
“Lucy says thanks for her nail trim and hair groom. She can now play without getting her paws (claws) tangled. Having a lazy day napping in sun whilst mum and dad go shopping for my horizontal scratch pad.”
Well done Lucy … Really proud of your new found confidence and that you’re obviously settling well into your new home. Not surprised really, with the gourmet banquet that’s laid on for you each day ! Hope there’s something there that you find you like !!
the lovely dolly
Who remembers this little lady ? Dolly !
Dolly is now 18 months old, and lives with her mum and dad in Carnforth, Lancashire. She is a Persian Cross and has a lovely fluffy coat to go with it !
We were asked to call in to see Dolly again as she’d developed a few tangles and mats – mainly underneath and around her trouser area. She was ever so good … Let us clip away no worries, and brush out the remainder of her coat. After a while Dolly started to get fidgety but we were nearing the end by the point anyway.
After the session, dad Ian said :
“Thanx 4 the great job u did with Dolly. After such a long time she wasn’t at her best, but she is now. Now that we have booked regular visits she should be easy 2 keep up with. Thanx again”
We’ll be calling in again to see you in a few weeks time, Dolly. Be good …Look after yourself and let dad brush you until then …..
miss molly
Who remembers pretty Molly ? Molly is 7 years old and lives with her dad in Urmston, Manchester. She is a quiet, friendly girl – who likes the night life !
Molly is a short haired lady, and it seems likely to us with her dense coat and markings that she may be Burmese cross. She has a lovely coat, but our visit was timely. Even though we saw her just before the summer – and therefore it’s been the lighter season since – her coat was beginning to clump up.
We brushed out Molly’s coat, and managed to tease out/comb out tufts that were developing around her lower back, flanks and rear quarters. It was a little heavy going at times and Molly would definitely have preferred to have been either in bed, or playing out !
However, she fared well and we took away a lot of dead hair. She’ll definitely feel better for it.
Nice seeing you again, Molly. Well done !
do you have house rules ?
![5355e28bbd698777dce07a5c9d1e5706[1]](https://essentiallypurrfect.co.uk/web/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/5355e28bbd698777dce07a5c9d1e57061.jpg)
Can you relate to these rules ?
Would your cat agree ?
Are there any missing ?
Why not come over to our facebook page and let us know
hercules champion
As always, it was nice to meet up with 15 year old Maine Coon Hercules Champion in Kirkham, Lancashire.
Hercules Champion definitely has a sixth sense. He always seems to know just before we pull up on the drive, and has been known to do a disappearing act. However, we’ve always found him as the neighbours always seem to know which way he just went !
Today, Hercules Champion was relaxing in the living room and moved without fuss to the grooming table. We had lots of fuss and cuddles and sweet talk during the session. He really does like that !
We see Hercules Champion regularly as he is no longer able to keep on top of his coat, nor does he let his mum brush him. Today was mainly a brush out, with just one or 2 ad-hoc tangles that had developed that needed removing.
You did really well, Hercules … Well done, and we’ll see you again soon ….
