Olive the cat before grooming. Look at all that fur!

Poor Olive! First we left her for four days while we visited friends in Salt Lake City. (We did have a cat sitter check up on her.) Then Monday morning, our first morning home, a mobile cat groomer arrived.

We’ve been dealing with Olive shedding hair all over the house, Olive spitting up hair balls, and looking uncared for.

Maureen the cat groomer arrived with a folding table topped with a rubber mat and a backpack full of various tools. I had confined Olive to a bathroom so I could easily find her. As soon as I opened the door, Olive shot out the door down the hall. I spent the next 10 minutes searching for her. Once I spotted Olive, I had to dive on top of her.

With Olive on the table, Maureen spent the next hour and a half with various cat brushes and combs, pulling out matted knots and Olive’s heavy undercoat. I stood at the table holding onto Olive, while telling her what a good girl she was.

This was the first time in Olive’s 11-year life that she’s been groomed. I try to brush her and she puts up with it for about 30 seconds before taking off.

I asked Maureen about shaving the cat, if that would be better than trying to brush and comb her out. Hubby wanted Olive shaved.

“That’s up to you,” Maureen answered. From her tone, I gathered shaving a cat was not something she was keen on.

“Since this is her first time being groomed, lets keep going with combing,” I said. “I think an electric razor would freak her out.”

In case you didn’t know, Olive is a scaredy cat. I had a friend’s daughter take care of her for three or four years whenever we left town. She said, “I don’t believe you have a cat.” My friend’s daughter never saw her. Except for the food being eaten and the litter box being used, there was no evidence that Olive existed.

The sheers did come out for Olive’s underside. The hair was thick, long and matted. Maureen said she’s never groomed a dog or cat that liked their hair being pulled out of their armpits or tummy.

When a large black trash bag was filled with cat hair and Olive’s polydactyl claws had been trimmed, we were done. Olive immediately leaped off the table and ran down the hall never to be seen again that day.

Olive wearing her lighter summer do.

If you have a dog or cat, do they like being groomed?

What are your thoughts about shaving a cat?