Once I learned how to body clip my horse, I got bold with the clippers. I clipped my dogs. After all, they don’t care what they look like and I only want them to be less shaggy. They didn’t seem to mind all that much and only squirmed a little.
But this week, I turned the clippers to one of our cats. Willow is a Ragdoll with what should be beautiful long hair. Our other Ragdoll, Iggy, exemplifies this. His coat is like a cloud. Willow, on the other hand, is somewhat challenged when it comes to personal grooming. Her coat looks like a bird’s nest.
I did some research on cat grooming and came across an ideal solution: the lion cut. You remove most of the cat’s body hair but leave a ruff around its head. My vet thought Willow would be much more comfortable clipped but warned against doing it myself because cats can be unpredictable.
I briefly considered the options. $25 for a new clipper blade or probably $75 for a professional to clip her. It was an easy choice. My daughter and I sat down with Willow and hoped for the best. It turns out, she kind of likes being clipped. Okay, maybe she doesn’t exactly like it but she certainly didn’t strenuously object. She did the Ragdoll thing and went all limp and passive.
At least we had fun.
We’re almost done now. She’s starting to look more like a lion and less like a mop. The part of her that’s shaved is smooth and velvety. It has to feel better. None of the other cats are making fun of her and she seems blissfully unaware that her new ‘do is rather amateurish. My daughter wants to clip her tail too but I’m leaning toward fixing the ragged bits and calling it a day.
Of course, now that my daughter and I have practiced, the other cats better watch out.
Note: after I wrote this I visited The Literary Horse. Jane has also written about cats. Although she added clothing instead of removing hair. If only the cats could talk . . .
I will say that of all the animals I’ve clipped so far, the horse is the easiest.