Indian Grooming Show EP 5: Grooming a Cat

What is the India Grooming Show?

IGS, or the India Grooming Show, is a grand event for groomers to achieve mastery over pet grooming. It is a wide platform for dog groomers to enhance their dog grooming skills beyond the traditional educational way of learning at grooming school, self-learning, or home study.  

With a legacy of offering exciting prizes and seminars by dog-grooming experts, IGS has provided pet groomers not only with educational opportunities but also with a chance to build community with other pet groomers.

What happened at India Grooming Show (IGS) Episode 5?

IGS EP 5 started with a bang: Over 15 groomers from across India gathered at the ABK Experience Centre to attend the Professional Cat Grooming Workshop from the exceptional Priya Bhatia. This workshop was centred around building groomers’ confidence with a specific focus on cat grooming techniques and tips. With a wide range of advice under her belt, Priya designed the session to cater to both professionals in the industry and groomers just beginning their cat grooming journey. 

The event focused on the best grooming practices for cats, along with other extremely pertinent questions: 

How do you handle an aggressive or scared cat on the grooming table? 

How do you educate pet parents on the best ways to care for their pet’s health and well-being? 

How can you, as a grooomer, best advertise your services?

The cat’s out of the bag: Now what?

When it comes to grooming cats, it is even more important to take the time to build a good relationship with the animal before beginning the session. Cats take time to adjust to new environments, and portray their feelings in very different ways than dogs. Groomers need to be attentive to the signs a cat exhibits on the table, especially when they indicate stress. 

The session began with tips for handling the cat when they come out of the carrier, as well as how to decide whether the cat is ready for grooming, depending on their temperament. Assuring the safety of both the groomer and the pet must be the highest priority on the table.

What is the safest way to bathe a cat during grooming?

The session then moved on to nail cutting: a stage where the groomer might wish to have the cat’s nine lives instead. 

• Priya explained the importance of cutting the cat’s nails before bathing, when the cat might get aggressive, to minimise the chances of the groomer being scratched by sharper nails. 

• Using a protective collar around the cat’s neck, Priya explained how this was a crucial step before bathing the cat. 

Making biscuits in the bathtub

• Priya explained the importance of using Groomer’s Goop Crème De-Greaser on the cat to degrease before shampooing to ensure a clean coat and skin. 

• Using lukewarm water in a bucket, she gently poured it over the cat with a mug, avoiding spraying or running water to reduce stress for the cat. With a gentle hand, Priya massaged the Bio-Groom Purrfect White Cat Conditioning Shampoo into the cat’s fur.

• Using an absorption towel after bathing is a must. It absorbs moisture from the cat, reducing the time the cat needs to spend in front of the dryer, which may be loud and overstimulating. 

• When the cat was in the towel on the grooming table, the dryer was kept switched on to familiarise the cat with its sound. Priya used the Hercules Double Motor Dryer on the cat to dry her with ease.

Brushing: Because Her Royal Meowness can do without the furballs!

• Using the back end of the Andis Slicker Brush to run over the cat’s fur once has multiple advantages– it reduces anxiety related to brushing, and also lets the groomer know which areas of the cat are especially sensitive.

• Brushing after trimming can help remove any loose hairs still trapped in the fur of the cat.

Brushing Teeth & Grooming Tails

• Using earbuds to apply toothpaste to the cat, Priya explained how this method was more convenient since it avoids contamination and is small enough for a cat’s face.

• Priya used the Andis 7.5” Steel Comb to brush out the cat’s tail before giving her a slight trim. She also reiterated the importance of not giving a cat a zero-cut. 

An important takeaway from this half of the session was the necessity for groomers to completely understand the client’s requirements before going into any cut for the cat.

 

Pricing & Advertising

Empathy with pet parents and pets is the cornerstone of grooming skill essentials. With care for consumers in mind, the pricing and costing of different services were also a part of the conversation at IGS EP 5. Building good client relations can, in turn, help build a loyal base of customers for your grooming salon. Some ways of improving advertising through organic means are:

• Discounts and Offers

• Asking for Referrals

• Building a good Instagram profile

• Asking clients for reviews after completing any service

Client interactions

Prioritizing pet health and safety above all is a recurring theme when it comes to any IGS event. This session was no different. Interactions with pet parents need to prioritize pet safety first. Priya advised when and how to educate pet parents on the health and well-being of their pet, and also when to advise a vet visit before taking on a pet for a grooming session. 

Managing resources 

Priya spoke about the efficient management of resources for a groomer. The number of tables in each salon, the number of groomers, and each groomer's ability to retain energy and confidence to perform consistently need to be taken into account while setting both short and long term goals for the business.

Concluding a Purr-fect Session

ABK is making huge strides towards creating a collaborative structure for the grooming community in India. The India Grooming Show, or IGS, is part of ABK’s long-term goals of representing quality pet products worldwide and being the face of India for the same. With IGS, groomers have been pleased to find an environment where they could exchange tips, advice, and talk about their problems and tools of the trade. IGS has made a positive impact in this community-building process for Indian groomers, and our hope remains that it continues to do so. 

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