Category Archives: Cat Grooming in New York

a man in red shirt holding a cat and a chicken

Review of Embrace Pet Insurance

Turtle-like glacial pace. That is the speed at which they process claims.

It took them a month to begin processing my cat’s claims. Then they put it on hold due to the vet not providing the information they wanted. I asked the vet to send the info, which the vet did promptly.


Now Embrace says it will take another month for them to review the additional info from the vet.

To me, this spells extreme understaffing or a shortage of funds to pay claims — or basic bad business practices, where claims are delayed as long as possible.

Do not choose Embrace unless you want to waste money.

Embrace is a bad pet insurance company.

Watch me groom a sweet Persian cat named Estelle

Grooming cats is fun! As a well-established cat groomer in NYC, with 12 years of cat grooming experience, I get to groom some beautiful cats. I look forward to grooming your cat.

Young Ragdoll

Sweet kitty about to be groomed by me during a housecall.

Grooming needs for this cat: trim claws, brush and comb fur, remove mats. Wiggly and vocal during grooming, but very sweet.

Pro cat groomer tip: Distract with treats while trimming claws.

To learn more about this fun and pretty cat breed, check out https://www.thesprucepets.com/ragdoll-cat-breed-profile-4583144

Set-up for cat grooming in a bathroom

spiffy kitty cat grooming
This is how I use a bathroom counter for grooming cats.

These are tools and equipment I use to groom a beautiful Persian cat during a house call. There are cat combs and brushes, a Zoom Groom, claw trimmers, IV San Bernard moussette, a tiny shaver, and a suction deshedder. This well-designed bathroom is large and comfortable.

Kitten deshedding

What happens during my housecall cat grooming visit?

  1. I prepare my work area, often in the kitchen or bathroom, using the big towels you provided.
  2. You bring your cat to me.
  3. For bathing, deshedding or dematting visits, I assess your cat by quickly running a hand over and under his or her body. This tells me about coat condition and their reaction to handling.
  4. For claw trims, I wrap your cat in the towel, place an e-collar (cone) on the head, and begin the claw trim.
  5. If your cat tries to bite, struggles, howls, hisses, pants or kicks, I will either finish the claw trim or decide that it is not *safe to finish. *When cats struggle, it is easy to cut too much of the claw, causing bleeding and pain.
  6. If the cat is too upset for safe grooming, we will discuss options to get your cat the grooming they need.
  7. After the grooming, payment is made with cash, zelle or venmo. If the grooming was stopped due to the cat’s behavior, or if it never began due to cat hiding in inaccessible place, there is a $20 fee to cover subway/bus and time.
  8. After successful visits, we discuss how often your cat should be groomed, and schedule the next visit.
  9. The last step is treats and playtime. Always try to end on a happy note. Thank you!!

“Can cat hair get into my lungs?”

This is my most popular post. I have now updated the post with a special gift.

It seems like many people are concerned about fur in their lungs.  I understand! That is a creepy idea, isn’t it? Who wants furry lungs? Not me!

As a present to visitors to my site, I created a booklet for you to read. I hope you enjoy it.

If you share it, link back to my site or say it’s from Spiffy 🐱 thanks.

How Not To Get Fur In Your Lungs

Cats see the world in soft focus

Emmaseyes

My 14 year old cat’s eyes

The cat’s world is seen in soft focus, however; it cannot resolve detail sharply because the lens in its eye is large to gather as much light as possible.

The New Encyclopedia of the Cat by Dr. Bruce Fogle DVM

This type of eyesight must make it impossible to make out the details of a claw trimmer or even a comb.  Cat groomers need tuna-scented trimmers!