Having purchased a Persian the previous year, I
made a list of requirements for my new creative
cat. I would interview rescue kitties, test their
temperaments and groomability. Nothing good
came from those meetings. I went back and thought
about my grooming style.
When I groom my own animals, I let them choose
when and how long I work on them. I set up my
creative towel and materials on the island in my
kitchen. When one of my cats wants to be worked
on, he jumps up and I work on him until he decides
he is done. Obviously, with the exception of
coloring, they are in charge.
Then I thought about my creative cats. About two
years ago I had a desire for a black cat. I contacted
my favorite rescue and the Duke of Purrington came
home to live with me. His known history included
two trips to the animal shelter and two rescues in
his 9 years of life. Duke had many issues to work
through. He was reserved, scared, insecure and
wanted his privacy. With love, stability, routine
and reassurance he slowly came out of his shell.
This terrified kitty now loves to go out in public on
his harness and radiates self-confidence. After six
months in our home, he would get very jealous of
the Persian’s weekly bath and brush sessions. He
demanded the same attention. Ten months after
moving in, he began getting up on my grooming
area for creative grooming. His first go at creative
grooming was funny. You could see him say, “wait?
What are you doing? It tickles!” as I slowly shaved
a heart into his coat.
Since that day, he has had three full body creative
grooms. Each time I went to work on his creative
grooms, he would roll over to watch what I was
doing! He was so excited to have his turn at
creative grooming he purred and rolled and licked
and purred louder. Like most cats, he loves his
grooming days!