Totally off the subject of debt, grooming a MEAN cat

lmale -

We had a long-haired black cat that needed to be groomed. During the hot southern months, I got the idea that it might be better for him to be trimmed shorter to be cooler. So off to the groomer we went. Next thing I know, I'm getting a phone call saying my cat has bitten the groomer and she wants to charge me $75 to sedate the cat so she can groom him! I said no way, and picked him up, determined to groom him myself.

I went to the pet store, got a set of clippers and a CAT MUZZLE. Yes, they make muzzles for cats. It worked like a charm. It was made of tough black nylon fabric, covered his eyes and strapped behind his ears with velcro. It left his nose uncovered so he could breathe, and he could open his mouth slightly, but not enough to bite me.

His first reaction was to try and back out of the muzzle, like a cat would back out of a paper bag once inside it. When that didn't work, he settled down and I got his grooming done! He would occasionally dart his head towards me, as if trying to bite me, but he couldn't. It worked great!

Don't be worried about hurting him - the muzzle doesn't hurt a bit - it's fabric, not metal, like some dog muzzles. And if he's that matted up, you might have to take clippers to him to get rid of the mats.

Check your local pet store - they should have them.

I have a persian cat that looks like garfield and she gets herself mated all the time because she runs out in the rain...my husband trims her while they watch tv together. You have to be really careful because their skin is like tissue paper you can cut them very easy and very deep so be careful. Use mustache scissors as those are smaller and easier to handle.