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Himalayan grooming

post #1 of 12
11/10/09 at 10:26am
Thread Starter 
I have a Himalayan that is so sweet. She was born in 1995 and when we first got her I took her to a wonderful woman groomer Johanna in Colorado. We lived there for 38 yrs. We moved here to FL 4 yrs ago. The first time I took my hymmie Bonnie in she just loved her! She purred and let Johanna do anything! Bath her, groom, blow dry! I think she used to be a show cat. She is a pure breed. But we just keep our 2 cats strictly as indoor cats. My other one is a long hair self maintained long fur part rag doll blk & white she was born July 1996. Anyway Bonnie when I went to go get her from groomer Johanna's she was quite comfortable in her chair like she had always lived there! She didn't want to leave! I had her cut her fairly short and tightly groomed. She used a #7 tooth blade and a #10 along with a few others. So she was nice & short to keep her ok for 4 to 6 month. I would only need to take her in for in between baths. When she needs to be groomed she gets real depressed and her eyes turn a real light grey and her whiskers turn straight! Weird~ Then after wards, she feels great her eyes are so blue they don't look real! and her whiskers curl up and she prances! Ok I need help in grooming her. I only have scissors and have done it the last 4 yrs but there has to be an easier way. It takes me hrs. I don't have electric sheers to cut properly.
Do I cut first then bath? Or bath then cut? Oh we can't find ANY groomer that will groom a cat here in FL! Its bad here! They all have said why would we want to groom a cat? and are rude. So I gave up. She is more important then that & no way to pet smart. Am sure there are some good groomers for cats at certain Pet smart through different ones & states.. but not here nor Colorado. So I am doing it myself and need some guiding.. Please advise with correctly doing her fur and undercoat~ she needs it and I want her to be happy and clean.... Here is my Bonnie Himalayan
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post #2 of 12
11/22/09 at 4:03pm
I also have a himalyan and while searching for a groomer I also encountered a couple of rude "Why do you want to groom a cat?" questions, but I did get lucky and find one, attached to my vets office. Why don't you look around for vets with groomers? Mine is awesome, very reasonably priced. I am in NC.
Here's my Squirt
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post #3 of 12
11/22/09 at 4:15pm
Thread Starter 
Hi Hillbillywoman~

Thank you for the reply... We moved from Colorado and I have searched for vets that groom but they want to knock my cat out down here and they are 5 times the cost. In Colorado Johanna was set and for a complete groom wash/blow cut anyway I want very thourgh and extra brushing to make sure loose fur is brushed out as much as possible.... Plus the nails, ears and the other thing that they do.... She was a flat $50.
I guess it had some to do with where we are located. But also it just isn't heard of in Fl either as much. To begin the ones that I did find started at $70. I will continue but can do it myself in meantime as I have now. By the way your baby is real pretty~ Nicely groomed......

Thank you
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post #4 of 12
11/22/09 at 5:12pm
I guess it has to do with the area, Its a bit rural where I live, but I get her done, everything, for $40. I signed a consent to sedate if needed, but they haven't needed too. She HATES it when I try to groom her, but is a perfect angel for a stranger.
Your baby is gorgeous as well.
I hope you find someone.
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post #5 of 12
11/24/09 at 9:06am
Quote:
Originally Posted by soph8 View Post
I have a Himalayan that is so sweet. She was born in 1995 and when we first got her I took her to a wonderful woman groomer Johanna in Colorado. We lived there for 38 yrs. We moved here to FL 4 yrs ago. The first time I took my hymmie Bonnie in she just loved her! She purred and let Johanna do anything! Bath her, groom, blow dry! I think she used to be a show cat. She is a pure breed. But we just keep our 2 cats strictly as indoor cats. My other one is a long hair self maintained long fur part rag doll blk & white she was born July 1996. Anyway Bonnie when I went to go get her from groomer Johanna's she was quite comfortable in her chair like she had always lived there! She didn't want to leave! I had her cut her fairly short and tightly groomed. She used a #7 tooth blade and a #10 along with a few others. So she was nice & short to keep her ok for 4 to 6 month. I would only need to take her in for in between baths. When she needs to be groomed she gets real depressed and her eyes turn a real light grey and her whiskers turn straight! Weird~ Then after wards, she feels great her eyes are so blue they don't look real! and her whiskers curl up and she prances! Ok I need help in grooming her. I only have scissors and have done it the last 4 yrs but there has to be an easier way. It takes me hrs. I don't have electric sheers to cut properly.
Do I cut first then bath? Or bath then cut? Oh we can't find ANY groomer that will groom a cat here in FL! Its bad here! They all have said why would we want to groom a cat? and are rude. So I gave up. She is more important then that & no way to pet smart. Am sure there are some good groomers for cats at certain Pet smart through different ones & states.. but not here nor Colorado. So I am doing it myself and need some guiding.. Please advise with correctly doing her fur and undercoat~ she needs it and I want her to be happy and clean.... Here is my Bonnie Himalayan
Your picture is very lovely and looks exactly like my seal point Himalayan (or is yours a chocolate point? The reason I got a Himalayan is because I love long hair and had always had short haired cats before. Therefore I never remove, cut, shave, or otherwise shorten his hair. I do however brush and COMB him every day. Click along side my username and you can see him after a brushing and combing. He has much longer hair now which touches the floor. I love his long hair so much and keep it beautiful and would never think of shortening it in any way with shears or whatever. Thats what Himalayans are all about, long, flowing beautiful hair but it seems very few people are willing to spend the time each day to keep it that way. Ironically, I think the constant combing and brushing actually makes his hair longer. The comments Persi receives from people about how beautiful his coat is is well worth the effort. From your pictures it looks like you take good care of his eyes, something that is very important in a Himalayan cat because their eyes are so big and round they tend to get matted in the corners which I clean every day with a cotton swab when I groom him. Ten minutes a day, that's all it takes.
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post #6 of 12
11/25/09 at 4:42pm
I alos love the long hair and love how it looks, and have no problem with the time it takes to groom Squirt and keep her looking her best, lol she's the one with the problem. She HATES to be brushed, period, end of discussion. I have purchased and tried every comb, brush available..she still hates it. So once a day, I royally tick her off and fuss with her while she gets brushed, growling and occasionally pretending she is going to bite me, but never has.
So yeah, I have her professionally groomed once a year, in the spring, and like the OP said, she acts like she feels so much better. If she were more tolerant of being brushed I probably wouldn't bother.
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post #7 of 12
11/26/09 at 6:41am
Have you asked your vet if they know of any groomers who'll do cats? The lady next door has a long haired cat that gets shaved during the summer. They have a traveling groomer come do her and she gets the cutest cuts! Also, you might try calling pet stores and see if they have a list of groomers they recommend.
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post #8 of 12
11/26/09 at 8:24am
Where in Florida are you located? If you go to this site and put in "Florida" in the drop down menu, then you can see all of the Certified Feline Master Groomers in FL. You don't need to be a certified feline master groomer to groom kitties, though. Have you tried searching out a mobile groomer?

If all else fails and you plan to own long haired kitties "forever", then you might want to invest in a HV (high velocity) dryer and clippers. You can learn to groom your kitties through "Home Study" dvd's. "The Ultimate Cat Groomers Encyclopedia" was recommended to me - but I have yet to buy it. You can find it here: http://nationalcatgroomers.com/training/study-materials

If you can learn to groom your own kitties, then you will save money in the long run. By all means, go give the groomers your business because they need to make a living, too.....BUT if all else fails because there is no groomer in your area who will groom cats, then you've got to do it yourself. I learned that cats need baths, too and most enjoy being pampered just like the dogs do.

I'm going to dog grooming school in May, but I hope to extend my knowledge to learn to groom cats. I'll have to go to another school after dog grooming school, though. Luckily, the course for dog grooming is 7 weeks and cat grooming has yet to be approved as a school.

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post #9 of 12
11/29/09 at 7:15pm
Your cat is beautiful! But I don't understand why she needs her fur cut? I would not recommend you try cutting her fur with scissors. There is too much of a chance of tearing that thin, delicate skin! You really need to know what you're doing when you trim or shave a cat. If you can't find a groomer in your new area, then I would recommend leaving her coat and just combing her really well daily or every other at the least. Use a medium tooth comb for general combing out of the coat and getting dead fur from underneath. Then follow up with a fine tooth comb.
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post #10 of 12
12/1/09 at 3:45pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by undergunfire View Post
If all else fails and you plan to own long haired kitties "forever", then you might want to invest in a HV (high velocity) dryer and clippers.

Clippers, sure. High velocity dryer - NO WAY. You'll scare the living daylights out of your cat. I am a groomer and when I bathe cats I use a regular human hair dryer on low, or a quiet cage dryer.

If you want to buy some clippers, feel free to PM me for suggestions. When shaving a cat remember to always shave in the direction that the hair is growing. Be very very very careful of the skin and the legs as they can be end up between the teeth of the clipper blade and you'll quickly find your way to the vet for stitches.

Honestly though, I'm with Persi&Alley. The long hair is beautiful and I personally would never shave my long hair cat. A good comb will go a long way.
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post #11 of 12
12/1/09 at 7:49pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by whiteforest View Post
Clippers, sure. High velocity dryer - NO WAY. You'll scare the living daylights out of your cat. I am a groomer and when I bathe cats I use a regular human hair dryer on low, or a quiet cage dryer.
I was told to buy a Metro Air Force 4.0 HV dryer.....that coming from a certified feline master groomer on the pet groomer forum boards who breeds & shows Persians. She fully grooms her cats 1-2 times a week to keep their show coats. She said the HV dryer will blow out all of the tight curls my kitten has under his arm pits & on his belly. I have tried using a human hair dryer on low, but it takes a long time and I find that it stresses my LH kitty out more then if I could just blow him out within 2 minutes with an HV dryer, as suggested to me.

I'll definitely take any advice from a person who strictly grooms cats & is a feline master groomer....safely grooming her kitties with an HV dryer.
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post #12 of 12
12/1/09 at 8:15pm
Cats conditioned from kittenhood may be a different story. I own two Metro 4.0 dryers and I would never even turn one on with a cat in my shop. They are extremely loud and literally forceful enough to blast the skin around - definitely not something for the average cat.
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