I successfully shaved Simon the other day. Single-handedly, as a matter of fact. It took me over an hour, since I only had one hand to wrestle the cat into position with, but overall I think I did pretty well. Simon definitely wasn’t happy to be shaved, but I spotted a few fleas on him, and anyone who has a long-haired cat knows how difficult it is to successfully wet, lather and rinse one.
Battle wounds? Few, all things considered. Simon was pretty pissed off, but the only scratches and puncture wounds I suffered were due to him trying to get away, and not trying to deliberately rip me to shreds.
I could have taken Simon to the groomer, but I didn’t feel like paying over $50 for what I could accomplish myself. I have a nice set of Oster pet clippers, and I have plenty of shampoos and cat bathing experience to take care of the bath part. So… I set to work. And succeeded. For being shaved by a total grooming n00b, I’d say he looks pretty good:
If I had to do it all over again, I would probably wear clothing that cat fur didn’t adhere to so easily, and I might be tempted to keep Simon in one place with the use of some industrial clamps. Kidding, of course. ;)
Before & after photos:
Awwww! Simon is possibly one of the cutest cats I’ve ever seen! And bravo to you for shaving him yourself! I’ve had quite a few tries at giving cats baths and it never goes over very well… Even little kittens can manage to tear your arm to shreds!