As fun as that little story is, I find that it is completely incorrect.
THIS is the year of the cat!
When I first entered the tradeshow part of the grooming industry
in 2006, I was dismayed to find that virtually nothing existed for
cat groomers. Of course there weren’t really any cat groomers
that I could find then either. But being one myself, I found that the
general grooming industry was geared solely toward the canine.
There were no cat grooming lectures, no products, no tools, and
really no training materials to speak of.
Fast forward to today – a thriving cat groomer association,
certification, a school, a variety of training materials, lectures,
products and tools specific to cats, a Feline Fantasy Cat
Competition, AND cats being groomed and presented in regular
creative competitions right there along with the dogs. Truly the
year of the cat!
I’ve had the pleasure of ‘participating’ in two creative competitions
and two creative runway shows, thanks to the kindness of Ann
Stafford and Jerry Schinberg, who have both been rather agreeable
to giving equal time to the felines. I wasn’t allowed to compete in
these competitions because of a show rule prohibiting speakers
from competition, but at least being there in the competition with
my cats brought a great deal of attention to cat grooming as a
whole, and specifically to creative cat styling. For this I was truly
thankful.
For years I have been doing basic design work on my clients’
cats, sometimes with color, sometimes without. I see the ‘buzz’
it creates locally and the positive effect it has had on my business
revenue over the years. I considered it a good thing to take
creative cat grooming to the industry itself – to show those
groomers that YES, it CAN be done with cats, too! After all, if
I can increase my bottom line by adding some creative pizzazz,
then so can my colleagues.
Several weeks ago, I was afforded the opportunity to actually
compete in a creative styling competition in Knoxville, TN. I
groomed one of my Persians, of course, and then threw in a
Standard Poodle for good measure. Lindsay Geidel, one of our
instructors at the cat grooming school, competed beside me with
two of her cats. We had a fantastic time, grooming in-ring, in
front of the crowds. The cats were truly a hit. The icing on the
cake, however, was Lindsay and I taking first and second place in
the First Timer’s Division and me winning Best Creative overall!
What a surprise and an honor all rolled into one! A cat groomer
actually got to win something in this dog-dominated world!
There was an ABC Nightline reporter present at the show, sent
to collect footage and interviews specifically on the creative
competition. After the win was announced, the reporter asked
me what it meant to win that particular competition. What did
it mean? It meant it was the year of the cat, baby! That in an
industry long ruled by dogs and their groomers, it was now time
for the cats to shine. And in my opinion, it was a long time in
coming.
According to my research, the Vietnamese calendar shows 2011
as being the true Year of the Cat. Okay, so we started a bit early.
Two in a row sounds great to me!