By Paul Cook - 11th December 2021
At Purrf Cat Grooming we have undertaken training with the National Cat Groomers Institute who are the leading trainers and educators of cat grooming techniques in the world. Their thorough syllabus, coupled with the one on one training from a Certified Feline Master Groomer is fundamental to learning the skills we have acquired as cat groomers. As at 2022, our master groomer at Purrf has also had over 4 years of valuable experience working with cats.
For the last few years we have also been learning more about Fear Free® grooming. Fear Free® was founded in 2016 as a philanthropic exercise to educate veterinarians, shelters, groomers and many other professionals working with animals to ensure the welfare of animals in our care remains our highest priority.
Here at Purrf Cat Grooming we have always maintained animal welfare is our highest value.
Combining the knowledge we have acquired from our own experience, the training we have received from NCGI, and our continued research into Fear Free® we continue to adapt our methods and approach to keep your cat as calm as possible while we work.
Are all cats that come to our salon stressed?
No. We tell our customers that in our experience 80% of all cats that come to visit our salon for the first time are ‘good’. Now, ‘good’ behaviour sits on a spectrum from ‘very good, to ‘good enough’ but in the majority of first time grooms a cat’s behaviour is calm, or somewhat wriggly at worst. For a cat to be ‘good’ they are not hissing, trying to attack or exhibiting concerning signs of stress.
On the other side of the spectrum we choose not to work on 7% of cats that we meet for the first time (this data has been sourced from years of our own personal experience and may not reflect the experiences other groomers have within the industry). Among the 7% of cats we choose to not work on, the overwhelming majority of those cats will arrive to our salon with a high heart rate, often panting and sometimes salivating. They may have also urinated or defecated in their carrier.
We will initially take several minutes to place the cat comfortably in our salon as we make a full behavioural assessment. Sometimes cats will arrive stressed but within 5-10 minutes may calm down as the trigger for their stress may have been the car ride and not the stimulus of the salon itself.
Unfortunately the 7% of cats we choose to not work on are unable to calm down enough for us to commence grooming them. For their safety, we will discuss with our clients a list of options they have available to them to meet the specific needs of their cat.
It’s worth noting that perhaps one of the biggest myths about our work is how we handle crazy and aggressive cats. In our experience, only once or twice a year will a cat come into our salon who is dangerous to us from the moment it arrives. Almost all of the 7% of cats we refuse to work on we do so for their safety, not ours.
The hardest part of having one of these truly crazy cats in our salon? Getting them back into their cage! It has taken up to 15 or 20 minutes just to get a truly wild (possibly feral) cat back into their carrier. These situations are fleetingly rare though, otherwise we’d have to ask ourselves if it is worth doing what we do!
So that leads us to the approximately 13% of cats that we choose to work with, but are not easy to handle. Combining our experience, training and focus on Fear Free® we will assess the behaviours of the cat and strategically work though a range of behavioural modification techniques until we find a solution that works best for your cat and for us. When we assess a cat’s behaviour we use a scale of behaviours from level 1 to 6 where 1 is calm, and 6 is almost mythically bad.
How do we identify cat behaviour?
Cats who are ‘good’ are identified as either ‘Level 1’ or ‘Level 2’, or presenting both levels at different times throughout the groom. Level 2 behaviour is typically associated with cats who are wriggly. They are not showing signs of high heart rate, they are responsive to our behavioural and communication techniques and they are not aggressive.
Cats who are showing us ‘Level 3’ behaviours will start to signal to us that they are not happy. This will often mean they start hissing, growling or try very hard to get away from us. A distinctive feature of ‘Level 3’ behaviour is that although the cat might be hissing, growling or resisting our touch, they are still not directing their threatening behaviour towards us. They are hissing to the room if you will, not to us directly. At ‘Level 3’ we will employ a range of strategies and techniques to pull them down from this agitated state. I should emphasise that we NEVER use punitive strategies in response to your cat. All of our techniques are designed to calm them down, never to force compliance.
Cats who are displaying ‘Level 4’ behaviour will start to turn their anger and aggression towards us. This might include showing intent to bite us, looking directly at us while vocalising aggression, trying to swipe at us or otherwise hurt us. This is not a fun place to be and in the interests of their welfare we will choose to stop grooming at this point. We always start our grooming on the inside back legs because if we have to stop, we haven’t returned to you a half shaved cat. To be honest, cats who are ‘Level 4’ usually won’t be groomed by us at all because their aggressive and stressed behaviour is apparent from the moment they arrive and they are unresponsive to our attempts to calm them down. If a cat begins the groom at ‘Level 1’ or 2 but escalates to Level 4 for a brief moment we may choose to continue the groom, but only if we can pull down the stress levels of your cat. We may also consult with you and choose a less stressful service that still meets your needs. In instances when a cat reaches ‘Level 4’ during a first time groom we will recommend Gabapentin be administered to the cat before their next appointment with us. In some instances, that recommendation will be a requirement if we assess that to be in the best interests of the cat. To learn more about gabapentin, click HERE.
We do not work on any cat who exhibits ‘Level 5’ behaviour. Since ‘Level 6’ is mythical, ‘Level 5’ is the most extreme aggressive behaviour we are likely to witness. Fortunately for us, any cat who is likely to reach ‘Level 5’ behaviour will be very easy to identify from the very beginning of the session. Cats who exhibit ‘Level 5’ or ‘Level 6’ behaviour will almost always be recommended to see a veterinarian for a sedated groom, or other service that is required.
Please remember though that 80% of all cats who come to see us for the first time are ‘Level 1’ or ‘Level 2’. Almost without exception, cats who return to see us at the salon will continue to feel more comfortable with us each visit. We love our regular clients because most of the time they are very calm as they have built a relationship of trust between us. Cats are very intelligent animals, and once we have finished they will almost always let us give them a good pat and will often come up to us for a cuddle before returning to their carrier.
So what are some of the behavioural techniques we use?
Each cat is different and our response to them is shaped by our interpretation of their behaviour. Sometimes we will introduce treats for them to eat as a way to distract them while we groom. One counter-intuitive tactic we will sometimes use is distracting a spicy cat with the introduction of white noise to draw the cat’s attention away from our shaver and on to a constant source of noise instead. From time to time we have also been known to play ‘cat tv’ on a screen, usually showing the cats images of birds in nature! We can also try to introduce different patting techniques, physical mantras, spoken mantras (often repeating ‘good boy/girl’ a lot) or sometimes we even sing! These are just some of the techniques we use. All of the techniques we introduce are intended to calm the cat, and none are ever punitive, aggressive, designed to provoke fear or cause harm.
Thanks for taking the time to read our blog. If you found it interesting or insightful please feel free to share it. Visit us as www.purrf.com.au
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