A Naked Cat

Yesderday was the day Izzy got her grooming...
I picked up an Acepromazine (a tranquiler) from our Vet. Frustrated as the counter girl was a biatch to me.  (hey little girl...I have been coming to this Vet since before you were born! He knows me well & knows I take good care of my pets. I don't need you to lecture me about being behind on shots, or argue with me about dosage). I would so rather had talked to the Vet, or someone that has been here for a while & knows what they are talking about... Whatever.

I give Izzy her pill (the too low dose, but okay...) and head to the Groomer.

Janna's Doggie Dos and Kitties Too

Janna is my new Hero... so is her daughter Carlye.

Izzy...poor girl. Didn't realize what was about to happen.  The mats have been clearly uncomfortable. She has been a rather grumpy girl.

Her tranquilizer did NOT kick in.
She was ticked off. Too say the least...

This was her during the grooming... remember, she has been sedated... kind of..
The groomers did a great job considering she was completely turning into a wild cat. We had agreed to get a clean shave, avoid her tail area (no mats & it's such a pretty tail (Emily did not want the Lion cut tail) and leave her neck fluffy too. It took three groomers to handle, calm and groom her. Also a muzzle. (oh and lets not forget that $10 tranquilizer..which btw cost .60 at petmeds.com)

This is her results...

She is too still beautiful!!!
Poor Baby... (Don't look at her tummy rolls).
She is adjusting well. A little flinchy.  A little chilled. But she seems so happy to have the mats a=off.  They were so close to her skin... I know they were painful.

The day was stressful for our little girl.  But... Annie let her up on her bed, and Izzy took a good nap.

It will take about three months to grow back. I am pretty sure we will keep her brushed regularly to avoid this again!

Isabelle's Diliema

Isabelle aka Izzy

Remember Izzy?  My daughter Emily's cat?  The one that doesn't like me even though I took her in when Emily moved into an apartment that wouldn't let her bring her cat(she will take her back in August)? The one that after I feed her, clean her litter box, "try" to be lovey to her, she hisses and swats at me? But will purr and love on my Hubby?  Also will be sweet to my younger daughter.  The only cat I have ever met that didn't love me back... That Izzy.

She has a dilema.

She had a little mat in her fur on her hip.  She doesn't let me brush her. Although I tried. Emily and I even tried to cut it out. Also Hubby tried.  The mat, instead of shrinking or getting brushed out... it grew. Make that multiplied.  Over the past week or so, it is migrated across both hips and spread wider. AND now it is to the skin.. I can't get a comb between the hair and her skin. It also seems to be uncomfortable (she is sleeping flat on her tummy now instead of the kitty curl).

We decided she needs help. Professional help.
It's a Cat Grooming Emergency.

So...we franticly searched for someone that will see her ASAP.
Do you know how hard that is?  Groomers want you to make appointments 2 weeks in advance.  Some don't even want to touch cats (hmmm, I can imagine why). I finally found a Vet clinic that will take her Wednesday, but they didn't even ask her name, and wouldnt give me prices. They want me to drop her off at 7am, and they will call me when they look at her to give me an idea what it will cost... Not feeling good about this...  I also found, through the magic of Facebook and networking through a friend of a friend...found a Groomer, that not only took the time to call me back (and on her birthday!) she was honest and upfront about her thoughts about the situation.  We scheduled for Tuesday morning. If she doesn't think she can handle her (let's face it Izzy is a bit of a mean cat), then she will send me along. Then I will have to make the scary appointment.

We are thinking since she must be shaved...
might as well make her somewhat cute with a lion cut.

Have you seen them?
Let me show you what I am talking about...

Now, even though I think these are hilarious... I would not have this done to one of our cats, unless they HAD to get shaved. I think the natural hair, long or short looks best.  We had an elderly cat that got mats and I tried shaving with a razored letter opener. I thought I was so smart, zipping this through his mats and doing it myself.  He was a sweet old cat and flinched only once....
WHEN I ACCIDENTALLY SLICED HIM OPEN WITH THE RAZOR AND HAD TO TAKE HIM TO THE VET TO BE "GLUED" BACK TOGETHER.

Bad memory. Bad, bad.. Also why I refuse to try that again...

So, you see our diliema.
We have no choice.
She has to be shaved... might as well try to make her somewhat cute instead of having her hips alone shaved as if she had surgery.
Right?

Puppy Spa Day

Dakota got his first Professional Grooming!  I know, I know! He is three and should have before now. BUT.. he is a Puppy Mill Rescue and very sensitive, skittish, and I needed to find the "right place". It just took me longer than I thought it would.

I have been grooming him at home... Learning as we go. He gets baths nearly every week as I understood Pomeranian's need this kind of care.

He doesn't mind, in fact, by now seems to enjoy it. (Okay, maybe he doesn't look like it in this photo).

I stumbled upon "Clippety Do Dawg" last week. Even though it has been around for a long time, I never noticed it. It's a tiny house converted into business next door to our Post Office. Who Knew?  All this time I have been looking online and a sweet old fashion, dog loving Gals were right under my nose!
Becky was very understanding and considerate to my concerns. She booked us as a first appointment of the day so Dakota would not have to hang out in a crate. She gave me all the information I needed and was priced fairly. 
Sooooooooo...
This morning, my little guy got dropped off (okay...just like when my girls got dropped off at preschool, I waited in the parking lot.. in case they needed me). An hour later, I get a call from Becky telling he will be ready in about 10 minutes if I want to head back (so I waited in the car for ten more minutes).

My Little Guy is so Handsome! They even put a cute little Monkey scarf on him! He was very well behaved. No nipping or even barking. They feel in love with him.
Who wouldn't?