Creative Cat Grooming Competitions

Do you assume that cats would never tolerate being snipped, styled and colored the way dogs are for creative grooming competitions? Well, think again! A new trend is taking hold in the pet world, and it's creative cat grooming.

Called "Feline Fantasy," the concept was introduced in 2003 at Intergroom, an annual pet grooming conference. After a brief hiatus the last few years, the creative cat grooming competition returned this year. "It just seemed like it was time to bring it back," Christine DeFillipo of Intergroom tells Paw Nation. "And this year, we allowed the use of color."

Five professional cat groomers were allotted one hour and 15 minutes to clip and color their cats with safe, non-toxic products. The cats could arrive pre-bathed, but all the grooming and design work had to take place in the ring.

You can see some of the before and after photos from these competitions in the gallery below, including one done by certified feline master groomer Beth Rex. "I tried to make it look like my cat was being swallowed whole by a shark," Rex tells Paw Nation, referring to Mr. Toes, her brother's 8-year-old cat whom she borrowed for the contest. To color Mr. Toes's hind end blue, Rex used children's sidewalk chalk. "I talked to the manufacturer of the chalk and my veterinarian to make sure it was safe," Rex says.



Another contestant, Olga Zabelinskaya, a top groomer of dogs and cats, sprinkled pet glitter in abstract patterns on her Blue Persian cat named Smokey. "I used blue sprinkles in abstract swirls to look like water waves," Zabelinskaya tells Paw Nation. Elsewhere, a fluffly Himalayan had its fur trimmed to resemble an angelic creature with aqua blue highlights and a crystal affixed to its forehead.

Did any of the cats hiss or yowl in protest at being on the grooming table, much less in public? Not really, say the groomers. "Mr. Toes did really well," says Rex. "He's a very good-natured soul and he let me do everything I needed to. He was fine." Zabelinskaya admits her cat Smokey was a little nervous at first, but that he relaxed. "I groom him every six to eight weeks, and he purrs when I wash him," she says. "Plus, my friend and assistant held Smokey and helped him stay calm."

Unlike in dog grooming contests, Feline Fantasy's rules allow two people per cat. "I insist the cat groomer has an assistant," says DeFillipo. "It's for the comfort of the cat, and in case the cat decides to leave." Did any felines try to pull a disappearing act? "No, no one tried to run away," laughs Zabelinskaya.

Judge Danelle German inspected each of the creatively groomed cats before proclaiming Rex and her shark design the first place winner. "I was looking for the overall presentation of the cat and that it was clean and fluffy with a good coat," German tells Paw Nation. "Then I was looking for creativity and degree of difficulty." Rex's clipper lines, says German, were very good. "It was flawless," she said.

"I did it just for fun and to raise awareness that cats need to be groomed," says Rex, nevertheless delighting at winning a trophy and $1,000 cash prize. (Contestants use baby wipes immediately after the competition to remove all color and glitter from the cats.)

It may be a revelation to some readers to learn that cats, like dogs, need regular grooming, including baths. "People say their cats clean themselves, and I'll say, 'No, your cat licks itself.' There's a difference," says German, who founded the National Cat Groomers Institute of America, a pioneer in establishing standards of excellence for feline grooming.

"Most cats need to get groomed, even short-haired cats," says DeFillipo. "Indoor cats clean themselves, but they get dusty." Longer-haired cats should be groomed every six to eight weeks, says Rex. "Same way you and I need to wash our hair, we need to bathe cats to keep them clean, avoid the buildup of body oils and keep their hair from tangling and getting matted," Rex says.

"Lots of cats absolutely enjoy being groomed and being pampered like kings and queens," says Rex. But what about getting creatively groomed?

"It's not for every cat," admits German. "However, there are some cats who seem to genuinely enjoy it. When my cat's in design, she preens and acts happy and content. When she's not [in design], she acts bored stiff."

Photographer Ren Netherland, whose images are show here, agrees. He says that at first, for the before shots, the cats aren't in the best of moods when he has to photograph them, but once they're finished being groomed, "the cats get perky and stand on their hind legs and turn around wanting people to look at them. They love the attention."

Tags: creative cat grooming, creative pet grooming, feline fantasy, intergroom, professional cat groomer