The cat groomer has her own shop just for cats in the south (that is, her shop is in the south, I suppose they welcome cats from pretty much anywhere), plus her own training school just for cat groomers (also in the south, but people from anywhere are welcome to attend - & they do!).
The dog groomer organizing this event doesn't groom cats, so she asked our groomer for sample clients for the DVD. She immediately thought of our big Otis kitty. He would be the "long haired that stays long haired" kitty, then there would also be a short haired kitty, & another long haired kitty that gets a lion cut (do a search for pics; it's really funny & cute looking).
She had everyone lined up. The lion cut kitty is a 16 year old persian a few towns away. But then the short haired kitty's owner had something else to do (really? how could you miss this?)... sooooooo, they asked for one of my short haired cats - Thea or Daisy.
When I first heard of this I thought it was hilarious, frankly. I figured I'd just hand Otis off in his crate (they come in a grooming van parked in the driveway & that's where they would film the grooming). But, as it turned out, the cat groomer wanted to film her evaluating ALL 3 cats for the DVD, since she feels most cat groomers don't know how to do that prior to grooming. This would require being inside the house as well as talking to me, on film.
Argh!
So, I cleaned out my whole front hallway prior & tried to look halfway decent that morning (not an easy task these days). They called ahead, saying they'd be here within 15 minutes, so Storyman helped me get the cats ready in their carriers in the hallway.
It took them over a half an hour to get to us... that's a LONG time for any kitty in a crate. You can tell from this video they were having a tough time. The only somewhat calm one was Thea (all the way to the left), but I think she's just too old to care anymore. Otis in the big green crate was screaming (he's a huge baby), & Daisy, in the middle, was acting like a... well, a caged animal. Go figure.
They finally arrived & she evaluated all the cats inside, deciding to take Daisy as the token short haired for the DVD. I think she was concerned about Thea's age & health status (renal disease), but she did clip her nails for me.
The assistant brought back my sweet, but sometimes ornery little Daisy, saying she was "a perfect angel" for them. She had a de-shed treatment. I have no idea what that entailed, but I guess I'll find out when the DVD comes out (not sure when that is)... she has always been soft but she's really silky smooth now, so they did something good.
It seems like she's been extra sweet to us since... not sure if that's a "please don't do that to me again I promise to be good" sweet, or a "thanks so much for the spa day I really needed that" sweet, but it's all good.
The two groomers & assistant (with the video) brought Otis back to me... I had not expected anymore in house filming at that point so everyone was downstairs & noisy! They wanted to film a "closing" with me (argh again) so I sent Storyman outside with Ollie who wouldn't stop barking (Ollie, that is, not Storyman, although he's been known to bark at times too), & Butterfly helped keep the stimmy noisy auties in the family room. We could still hear them but the groomers said they didn't care.
The twins were watching at the baby gate; not sure if they got them on camera. I doubt it though, because they'd need permission for that & I wasn't asked.
After it was all over (whew), the groomer told me Otis had been very stressed, so they cut it a bit short & hadn't sent him back completely dry. She said she never does that but she was concerned about pushing him too far. He is a nervous kitty & this was a totally new person, new van, other people, & he had to wait a while in the crate before they arrived & while Daisy was being groomed.
So it was understandable that he was stressed. She had tried to get a last shot of him when he was let out of the crate but he ran as fast as he could down to safety through the kitty door. We didn't see him until later that afternoon. He's just fine now; back to his skiddish self & looking sleak & purdy.
Now for the "after" pics...
Thea & her mani/pedi...or rather, just pedi, I guess.
Daisy, looking sweet, soft & relaxed after her spa day.
And Otis, looking um... well, kinda weary & like he's had enough.
I'm not sure when their big debut is... I suppose my cats will now be stars of the grooming world. All the other kitties will be jealous... or maybe not quite.
Either way I hope they don't become even bigger divas now.
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