Can you still groom my cat if it's aggressive?

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- Yes, many times we can still groom the more fractious felines. Our formal training is in cat specific handling techniques so we do know how to mitigate risks while grooming felines of this temperament. It should be noted that we do have many cats that other groomers and vets may consider aggressive or recommend sedation... we do find that when we do our temperament assessment most of it really boils down to needing different handling techniques or changing up which part of the process we begin with.  Of course on occasion there really will be an aggressive cat that comes in and needs our services. For those there is an added in safety/aggression fee of $30, this is for truly aggressive and dangerous cats.

 

We would like you to be aware that your cat is of this temperament and understand the risks and benefits of proceeding with grooming on a cat like this. A vast majority of the time a cat is usually shy, second to that it is shows only minor aggression or wiggly tendencies which is easy enough for us to work on with no additional fee's.

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Does my cat really need the bath part? Can't you just comb it out or shave the mats out and be done? 

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Here at Suite Whiskers we are very firm believers in practicing the known best practices for skin and coat health for cats. That DOES include a bath and blow dry with thorough comb through. The goal is not only for your cat to leave clean and mat free but to also STAY mat free until it's next appointment. We want to prevent the matting before it even takes place instead of always being the bad guy and shaving out painful matting and making kitty endure a very stressful and painful groom of removing matted pelts off their body. We believe so very much in preventative care that we stand by our work on this as well. We have a 100% satisfaction guarantee if you cat comes back in for it's next appointment with matting or pelts after 4-6 weeks we will redo the groom for free.  

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Do I have to bring my cat in a carrier? 

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We kindly ask that you do not ''carry'' your cat into the salon as we have a very limited window of time that a cat is ok with stimulation. Car rides, handling, and change of location are all extra stimulation that isn't a part of your cats normal routine. Once that ''timer'' goes off, there's very little we can do to work around this. Once a cat has hit the point of over-stimulation it's often a cat will have to be sent home and the groom finished another day. 

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If you do not bring a carrier in and your cat needs one to exit the building safely you will be sent home with one with a deposit on one of our carriers as well as a rental charge. Upon returning our kennel you can have a refund of the deposit but the rental fee still applies.  We highly recommend you simply bring your own to avoid any travel or over stimulation 

 

I don't use a carrier, my cat walks on a leash...

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Many times our carrier policy does still apply to cats on leashes. We find it truly rare that a cat is actually that extremely well socialized and of a breed that tends to be more outgoing and can take higher stimulation. In those very rare cases we do allow leash entrances. Most of the times owners have a very hard time spotting stress or over stimulation signs in their cats while on a leash ... this often leads to  a very short timer and often incomplete services. Please just understand that the groom might not go as smooth as it should, or even be unfinished and that is a risk you are willing to take. If you still choose to bring in your cat leashed and we can not complete services despite knowing the over stimulation risks we want to make it clear that we do still charge for our work/time in these cases. You do of course still have our guarantee that we will give it every attempt to complete the requested services though. 

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If you do not bring a carrier in and your cat needs one to exit the building safely you will be sent home with one with a deposit on one of our carriers as well as a rental charge. Upon returning our kennel you can have a refund of the deposit but the rental fee still applies.  We highly recommend you simply bring your own to avoid any travel or over stimulation 

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What vaccinations do I need to bring and are they required?

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According to the state we are absolutely required to have proof of vaccinations on record for both Rabies and Feline Distemper. These are the only 2 required by state and we do not require any additional ones for our facility. As of 2019 the state does NOT accept titer tests in place of vaccinations so we can not accept these unfortunately. We can however have a documented letter from your veterinarian excusing your cat from one of these due to medical needs. So if this is a sitation that applies simply have your vet write a letter detailing why your cat can not have this vaccination and we will put it on file in place of this requirement. 

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Please feel free to pre-load your records in the customer portal system. There is a section for your pets vaccinations.

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Do you use sedatives or sedation to groom cats at your facility?

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The short and simple answer here is no! We are a sedative free facility when it comes to grooming. We do have on very rare occasion an owner bring a cat to us that after many attempts WITHOUT sedation of any kind if it truly isn't possible to work on the feline without it, we may request they speak to their vet about a use of an over the counter sedative that's given ~30min before their appointment at home. This will often help take the edge off of the process for the cat, but is not a full anesthetized groom. We currently only have 2 clients in our entire client base that do this, so again, this is a exception not the rule. For a fully sedated groom we refer out to a few local vets that have a good track record with this process and defer to their medical expertise in veterinary care. 

 

My cat has claws- will you still be able to groom him/her?

-YES! In many many many cases we very much prefer a clawed cat to work on. Many declawed cats recognize their claws are no longer there and swatting is a useless form of communication to them. This in turn makes cat's ''fight with their teeth'' instead. Not only that, but we have seen first hand that declawed cats tend to have more pain in their feet and react more to being handled near their extremities. Can we still work on a declawed cat too then, absolutely! We might just have to use different holding techniques to ensure our groomers safety and or the comfort of the cat. 

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My cat is a senior now, can you still groom him/her?

-YES! In many many many cases we love the 'oldies but goodies'. Older cat's tend to do just fine, even when it's their first time ever being groomed. We are well versed in senior cat care. All cats 12 and older are required to have a senior health form release from their vet, (which includes asking for a senior blood panel ran by your vet). This form can be emailed direct to your vet, printed off and brought back in or scanned/emailed in return to us. We must receive this form no later than 48 hours prior to groom. This gives our staff a chance to review health conditions and allow us to add on additional staff for the groom if assistance will be needed. This form is required once at 12 years old, an update form of this at 16 years old, and again at 18 (then annually recurring after 18 years of age or older), This helps us know how best to modify our grooming procedure to keep your cat's health/safety as a priority. This form can be found here: Senior health form release! 

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My cat doesn't have a vaccination you require, can I still get my cat groomed with you? 

- This depends on the specific vaccination and or reasoning for not having the vaccine. We adhere strictly to the state laws regarding boarding kennels requirements for vaccinations which are at minimum Rabies and Distemper. We have additional requirements for those being boarded that will be having free roam time, but those are not necessary for grooming appointments. If your cat has a letter of exemption from a vaccine due to a medical reasoning directly from your veterinarian. This needs to be on vet letterhead and sent directly to our offices for verification and then we can proceed with scheduling a groom. 

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