Creative Cat Grooming Competitions

Jul 26th 2010

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.