lovely horatio

Say Hi to Horatio (or Ray, as he is affectionately known).

Horatio is almost 1 yr old (and already a big boy !) and is a Seal Point Ragdoll who lives in Wigan, Greater Manchester.  He has a brother called Octavius, a housemate Charlie and a family who adore him !

We were called in as Horatio is moulting a lot at the moment, and in need of a brush out.  He does let mum brush him, but after a few minutes gets fed up and he’s off.  Mum’s brushing is evident as his coat is in such good condition.

We began the session brushing underneath.  Horatio was really against laying on his side.  Not his thing, he said.  So, we combed as much as possible from the top and in various position to reach his belly and chest.  He was much keener on all 4s, whilst we brushed out the rest of  him.

After the session, mum Jessica said :

“Just a quick message to say thank you for all your hard work with my little ray and his brother 🙂 they look amazing! Thank you for being so kind and caring towards our boys and making there pamper as pleasant as possible!! Will 100% be recommending you to other cat owners 🙂 xxx“

Thanks so much Jessica .. You’ve got a little cracker there, lovely boy !

pretty kiki

Meet Kiki.  A 21 month old White/Lilac Persian who lives in Bolton, Greater Manchester with her family and housemate Delilah.

Kiki is a most sweet, friendly girl, with a candyfloss coat.  Mum is able to brush Kiki but 1 or 2 tangles had developed underneath and around the chest, which needed some attention.

Quite a squirmer, it took Kiki a while to settle down on the table.  She said she’d rather be playing out thanks very much !  However (we think with the help of relaxing music) Kiki did settle enough to get to work on her coat and remove the matted areas.  Although quite apprehensive of the clippers to begin with, once Kiki realised they didn’t hurt we were able to make progress.

Following the session, mum Karen said :

“Sandra was so patient with Kiki, Persian, with quite a few knots.  She has a way of relaxing cats with her gentle approach and soothing music.”

Why not come over to our facebook  page to see a short video clip of Kiki after her session.

Well done Kiki .. Such a good girl !!

handsome octavius

Come and meet Octavius.

Octavius is almost 1 year old, and he’s a Lilac Bi-Colour Ragdoll who lives in Wigan, Greater Manchester with his litter brother and family.

Mum Dawn is well on top of Octavius’ coat, and he loves being brushed by her.  He would literally sit there all day for her, if she’d go along with it.  Today’s session was Octvavius’ first structured grooming session to rid him of excess hair.

Octavius is a very vocal chap, and this was so on the grooming table.  It took him quite a while to settle – we were well into the session – but once there, he lay calmly with his eyes closed whilst we combed away.  We think the background music helped him relax.  It’s interesting how different cats prefer different positions.  Octavius was much more comfy laid on his side, than on all 4s and didn’t mind his belly being combed at all.

After the session, mum Jessica said :

“Just a quick message to say thank you for all your hard w…ork with my little ray and his brother 🙂 they look amazing! Thank you for being so kind and caring towards our boys and making there pamper as pleasant as possible!! Will 100% be recommending you to other cat owners 🙂 xxx“

Fantastic … Thanks Jessica.  It was nice meeting up with Octavius (and little Ray, whose story will be posted separately).

miss miffy

Who remembers Miffy ?

It is 12 months since we met up with Miffy – a most beautiful 9 year old lady in Reddish, Stockport, Cheshire.

Last time we met, Miffy had some matted areas that needed to be clipped away.  Since then, her coat has grown back really nicely and mum and dad have been able to keep on top of it with regular brushing.

It’s fair to say that Miffy wasn’t as keen on the grooming session as we were.  We played some relaxing music for her – which seemed to help at times, as she lay calmly on the grooming table.  However, she is quite a fiery little miss and she told us in no uncertain terms that she’d rather be doing something else, thanks.   There weren’t any mats to remove, just a brush out – although her coat is already a lot thinner at this time of year.

After the session, Miffy was all smiles for dad as she lay chilling out.  Dad Neil later said :

“Princess Miffy wasted no time strutting about and showing off after her grooming.”

Well done Miffy, you did really well chick …

tiny tess

Who remembers Tess ?

We’ve met up with Tess in Wigan, Greater Manchester a couple of times before, and it was nice to see her again this month.  Tess is now the fantastic age of 21 !!  Key of the door, and all of that … !

We were called in originally as Tess had developed some matted areas around her body, which needed to be removed.  Due to her age, her vet had been unable to help as anaesthetic wasn’t an option.  So, we  worked gently with her to make her more comfortable.  Although Tess wasn’t pleased during the session, she did seem to understand what we were doing.  She preferred the clippers to the combs, and sat patiently in stretches whilst we took off the mats.

Today’s session was a maintenance groom.  When we arrived, Tess was ever so friendly, and had a good nosey at the bags and equipment.  If she did remember the last session, it certainly didn’t phase her.  Tess is a Persian Cross, and as such her coat is very thick and dense.  It is only a matter of weeks since we last saw her, but she was definitely ready for the brush out.  Her coat was tough to comb through, but very pleasingly we did manage to fully comb – rather than need the clippers.  Again, Tess wasn’t best pleased, but we know she’ll now be feeling so much better for it.

Afterwards, Tess went immediately to top up at the filling station.  Well – it’s tough for a cat to have to wait so long between snacks (!) – then she came back into the room where we’d held the session, and we had a good head rub and fuss.  Tess definitely looked pleased with her little self !

Why don’t you pop over to our facebook  page where you can see a video clip of Tess just after her session.

Well done, Tess – you did really good chick !!  See you again soon for another session …

lady tilly

This little (little ?!) lady is Tilly.  Remember her ?  Tilly is almost 3 years old and lives in Blackpool with her mum and dad.

We’ve met up with Tilly a few times and it’s always nice to see her.  She is a beautiful silver tabby Maine Coon who has her own cat house – however, she loves to sit in her garden and watch the birds in the sun.

It’s a matter of weeks since we last saw Tilly, and today’s session was a brush out.  No knots in sight.  Dad has been able to comb her a little, and it does show.

Tilly was quite tolerant today, in her session.  We groomed in her cat house, which is nice and airy/breezy and makes for a pleasant session.  The sun was out … the best possible environment !

After the session, dad Ron said :

“You did our Tilly yesterday & I just wanted to say, many thanks for a wonderful job. She is not the easiest of cats to groom, but I doubt there is anyone else, that could have achieved what you did. So from Paula, me & Tilly our gratitude & thanks.”

Thanks Ron – and thanks for being a good girl, Tilly !  See you soon ….

lovely matilda

Come and meet lovely Matilda !

Although she doesn’t look it, Matilda is 18 years old (!) and lives with her housemate and family in Reddish, Stockport, Cheshire.

Matilda still plays out, but isn’t as active as her younger years.  Today was all about clipping Matilda’s nails as they don’t wear down as they once did.

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.

Matilda wasn’t keen on the session.  This was the first time she’d had her nails clipped, and it can be a strange experience for any cat, never mind at 18 years old.  However, the dirty deed was over and done with within a couple of minutes, and all was well.

After the session, dad Neil said :

“Moody Matilda did sulk for a day after you clipped her claws but as you can see the old girl is back to herself now”

Really well done Matilda … What a brave girl !

gorgeous red

We called again to see a friend –  1 year old Siberian, Red.  Red lives in Smallwood, Cheshire with his menagerie and family …

We meet up with Red on a regular basis to keep his coat in check.  The first time we saw Red, we helped him with removal of mats around his body.  His coat is now growing back very nicely indeed.  Although the coat in general is much thinner now (June) to how he presents in the autumn/winter, it was still in need of a good brush out to remove small tangles and mats that had formed – particularly underneath and around the armpits.

Such a friendly boy, Red loves nothing better than to head but and chin rub right through the session.  Red has the most gazing eyes, and looks straight at us whilst we are at work.

If you come over to our facebook  page, you can see a short video clip of Red on the grooming table, at the end of his session.

Red likes to spend a lot of time outside, and gets caught up with all sorts of bracken and twigs etc….  We know that he feels so much more comfy after his session – and looks quite proud of himself !

Nice seeing you again, Red !  Well done and see you soon !

sweet sissy

We called in to meet up with the lovely Sissy again, in Liverpool, Merseyside.  Sissy is a cream Persian who is 3 years old.

Last time we saw Sissy, we clipped her coat to relieve her of mats that had formed around her body.  It was quite a long session, as some of the matting was difficult to work through, and Sissy was a bit fidgety.

Today, Sissy’s coat had partly grown back (see photo to the right of Sissy before her clip), and mum had been able to keep on top of it with the brush.  We decided to clip her back once again, to help going forwards.

Sissy obviously remembered the last session and sat good as gold whilst we got to work.  She’s not too keen on laying on her side, so we took as much off as possible on all 4s, before working underneath.  It was a much easier, quicker session all round.  The sessions are often more relaxed as they progress.

On our facebook page we have posted a short video clip of Sissy – both Before and After her clipping session.   Why don’t you nip over there and have a look …

After the session, mum Ondina said :

“We decided to call Sandra again to give both Dexter and Sissy a haircut.  Sissy was the first and this time her fur was in good condition.  Sissy was very happy  ….  We are once again very happy”

Really well done Sissy.  You were such a good girl !!  (Dexter’s story is posted separately)

mr victor

This lovely young man is a 4 year old Red Siberian called Victor who lives with his litter brother and family in Salford, Manchester.

We were called in to meet up with Victor as his coat had developed mats around his body.  The top part of his body (down his back) was pelted.  Once the knots start, they can literally come on so quickly and take over.  We’ve seen this so many times, with cats that we’ve worked with  A large part of the rest of his coat had ad-hoc mats.  We decided to clip away the problem areas, and save what was possible.

Once on the grooming table, Victor was extremely anxious.  He really wasn’t keen either on the noise of the clippers.  However … We began work on his back – removing the pelt that had formed.  It was quite extensive and took some clipping ….  Victor knew straight away what was going on and with some sweet talk from mum to help proceedings, he calmed somewhat.  Throughout the session he spent considerable time ‘helping’ by washing his chest and front paws.  As the pelt came away you could almost see the relief on his face (see piccies of the pelt, to the left and below)

As the clipping was quite tough, we decided to break the session into two.  This was so we had a fresh start a few days later, to work around the back end and finish off underneath.   On the second session, Victor settled much more quickly – again ‘helping’ out !

He can now reach some areas that he hasn’t seen for some time and he’s feeling much lighter and fresher !   If you come over to our facebook  page, you can see a short video clip of Victor on the grooming table, and post session.

Afterwards, mum Anna said :

“Just wanted to say thanks again for giving Victor a much-needed haircut !  He already seems so much happier, and as you can see, he and Clyde are back to being the best of friends…no more hissing !   No doubt Victor was one of your more ‘challenging’ customers, but you were so calm and patient with him and managed to do an absolutely fantastic job !  I really appreciate it, and I’m sure that Victor secretly does too and will greet you with purring next time rather than channeling his inner Houdini !  Thanks again 🙂 xx“

Well done Victor … You were very brave and we are all really proud of you !!