12 months grooming cats.... the story so far.

So it has been 12 months since I returned from what some claim to be a crazy endeavour to the USA to learn how to groom cats, and what a 12 months it has been! There have been so many changes to our business in this time and I have learnt so much.

On returning I spent a lot of time working out what we needed to do to be able to provide a specialised cat grooming service like what I had been trained to provide. I knew that there was a huge gap in the grooming industry for cats, because who would be crazy enough to groom cats right?

On returning from the NCGIA I quickly put into practice the skills that I had been taught and started to develop my own techniques on handling and grooming the cats. The education I received was immensely important as it gave me the confidence and skills I needed to groom cats safely and to a high standard.  We started to offer cat exclusive grooming days in our Westlake store which gradually picked up as more and more people heard about what we had to offer.

Samson

One thing I felt was really important for a cat grooming salon was a salon cat. Well the search began to find the right mascot. We were so lucky to find our wonderful boy Samson through Little Paws Kitten Rescue. He has become a firm favourite with our customers, who are often enticed into a loving head butt from Samson as they make their purchase. We love Samson and he makes us all laugh many times through the day – especially when he is trying to get some attention so swats everything off the bench so we give him some J! He is a clown and it seems he was born to be in this role. We are so grateful that he is with us!

2011 was a tough year for the business and for our family and we had to make some really hard decisions, due to a number of circumstances that lead to massive changes for Nose 2 Tail Pet Care. By October we had decided that we needed to close our Oxley store and operate out of the one location in Westlake. As luck would have it, the store next to ours was vacant, so we were able to sign a lease and set in motion the plans to open Australia’s FIRST Cat Exclusive grooming salon.

As we really wanted to focus on this one location and simplify our lives, we also decided that the mobile grooming section of the business needed to be closed as well. This was a bitter sweet decision as this was how the business initially started back in 2003, but it was the right decision for us.

Some people think we are crazy – because seriously, who wants to groom cats AND who would open a cat only salon???? Well as of January 2012, our cat exclusive salon became a reality. We had Australia’s FIRST certified feline master groomer (CFMG) operating Australia’s FIRST cat exclusive grooming salon. The salon has become very popular and is gaining a reputation  for exceptional grooming that is specialised for cats.

We have so many regular customers who have seen the benefits of regular grooming for their cats. To these regular customers wer are a solution to the many issues they face with their cats grooming and maintenance. In many cases we have been told that we are life savers.

We also have a constant supply of new customers who are being introduced to this new world where their cats don’t need to be greasy, stinky or matted – EVER.

So what have I learnt over the past 12 months grooming cats?

-  To be quicker than the cats I am grooming

-  Cats really don’t mind the whole grooming process including the bath and blow dry

-  How to handle the small number of cats who don’t enjoy the process as much

 - We can handle many cats that vets can't or won’t touch! 

-  People want their cats to be groomed and have been looking for something like this for a very long time 

 - People need to see it before they will believe it.

  - Cats are greasy, they shed, they lick themselves and this is what causes matts and knots

  

- Cats appreciate it when we remove matts from them, they are often in pain which causes them to get cranky. I'd be cranky too if it hurt to move! 

 - I am quite capable of grooming cats on my own!

-   We transform cats from a mess to AMAZING! (see above before and after of Jewel!) 

- I really enjoy grooming cats!

- Cats really do need to be bathed regularly, whether long or short coat.

- Many cats fall asleep, or are much more relaxed while I am grooming them.

- Cats don't mind being bathed. In fact a lot actually enjoy it and relax through it. 

 - For many cat owners, we are an answer to their long suffering issues with their cats coat

 - Wet cats look funny

- Cats fall asleep while I groom them!

- There is a time limit for grooming cats, and a cat will tell you quickly once you have reached it.

- Cats fall asleep when we groom them!

- Going to America to learn how to groom cats is on of the best decisions I have made.

- And the main thing I have learnt is that there is always something new to learn.

If you had have told me 18 months ago that I would one day be grooming cats as Australia's first Certified Feline Master Groomer in Australia's First cat exclusive grooming salon, I would have laughed at you. Now looking back over the last year, the addition of specialised sedation free cat grooming to our business was one of the best decisions I have made!

People will always think I am crazy for grooming cats. I will forever be explaining why cats need to be groomed regularly. But this is ok. I have provided a service to many people in need. I have transformed hundreds of cats and improved their lives. I am grooming cats.... and this is a good thing!

Reeda Close
CFMG 1.1.66

Have your pet featured in a book to treasure forever!

We are so exited about an opportunity that is available from our friends at Zoo Studio Animal Art Photography. The team at Zoo Studio are putting together a limited edition, hard cover coffee table book that they are hoping to raise over $18,000 for RSPCA QLD.

This is a fantastic opportunity to have professional photos taken by the amazing team at Zoo Studio. Have your pet featured in a stylish book you can treasure forever while contributing to the great organisation that is the RSPCA.

Zoo Stu­dio are look­ing for South East Queensland’s most adored pets to star in an exclu­sive, beau­ti­fully designed, hard cover cof­fee table book. Entry into the book will be avail­able to a lim­ited num­ber of Bris­bane and South East Queens­land clients only.

If you would love your pets involved in a stu­dio ses­sion for this book, sim­ply fill in the online appli­ca­tion form to apply.

A $75 par­tic­i­pa­tion fee is required upon accep­tance which is donated directly to RSPCA QLD.

The Tail (Tales) book will be a trea­sured reminder of all that you love and adore about your pets. Artis­ti­cally designed in Zoo Studio’s unique style of ani­mal art pho­tog­ra­phy this book will be pub­lished by Zoo Stu­dio, once the lim­ited ses­sion have been completed.

We love these guys and are so happy with their work that they have done for us! They also work tirelessly to raise much needed funds and awareness for many organisations including the RSPCA.

For more information on this amazing opportunity, contact our friends from Zoo Studio.

Caption this Competition Winners

 And the winners are:

 Photo1 Winner -

"Oh, that's just great. They put the reds in with the whites again!"

Congratulations Debbie Lane

Photo 2 Winner -

"iPooch"

Congratulations Lara Cox

Photo 3 Winner -

"You and me, we can take over the world! I have the brains and you have the looks!"

Congratulations Karen

 Photo 4 Winner -

"it's just one whisker, I'm sure I can get it without tweezers.... hold still!

Congratulations Georgia

Photo 5 Winner -

"I don't get it. Our best friends often miss and they only have two legs to worry about!! We have four and can aim straight holding two legs above our heads. That's humans' for you."

Congratulations Rebecca Senyard

Photo 6 Winner -

"Duck! A flying piranha-dog!"

Congratulations Melissa Lowcock.

Congratulations to all our winners. Please contact us via email at info@nose2tail.com.au so that we can contact you to arrange collection or postage of your prize!



Caption this Competition - Who wants a free massage?

The team at Centenary Natural Therapies, who are located a few doors down from us, have been very generous in offering us some 30 minute massage vouchers (valued at $57 each!) in celebration for mother's day. We thought this is a great opportunity to have a bit of fun.

How do you win?

We are looking for the best caption for each of these 6 photos below.

To leave a caption simply comment in the comments section below with the reference to the photo the caption is for. - eg (Photo 1 - "Mum said I have to finish the laundry before I can torment the dog!") Please use your first and last name when leaving the comment so we know who you are.

The more creative and funny the better :). Make us laugh!

Photo 1

Photo 2

Photo 3

Photo 4

Photo 5 

Photo 6

1. Competition starts 11th of May  at 10am and will end on Monday 14th of May at 9am. Winners will be announced on our blog on the 14th of May.
2. Winners vouchers can be picked up from our store at 180 Westlake Drive, Mount Ommaney - or we can post to winners if more convenient. Name, address and phone number will be required to arrange for pick up or postage. This can be done via email to info@nose2tail.com.au once winner is announced.
2. Anyone is eligible to enter, however the prizes are for a massage for a female at Centenary Natural Therapies which is located in Mount Ommaney, so you might want to enter and win one for your mum, or grandma or even yourself :).
3. There will be 6 winners and each person is only eligible to win one voucher. Each person can enter as many times as they like, but are only eligible to win one voucher. Only one winner per household.
4. Any captions that we feel are inappropriate will be removed at our discretion.
5. The winner will be selected by the Nose 2 Tail Pet Care and will be judged on creativity and humour. Captions that receive more comments in their favour can help to support their chances of winning, so ask your friends and family to comment under your caption. However final decision will be made by us.
6. Staff of Centenary Natural Therapies and Nose 2 Tail Pet Care are allowed to submit captions but are ineligible to win.

HAVE FUN!

At these prices, why would you wash your dog yourself?

Every Saturday we offer a discounted dog wash for all those smelly, dirty doggies out there. This is a cheap and convenient way to have your dog professionally bathed AND there is nothing for you to clean up!

For only $14 you can have your dog bathed and towel dried.

This is a great option for short coat dogs who are going to dry quickly anyway. Dogs with longer coats are not recommended for a towel dry as their coat often traps moisture causing hot spots and knots and tangles to develop.

For only $16 or $18 (depending on the length of your dog's coat) you can have your dog bathed and partially dried.

A partial dry will remove excess water from the coat, your dog will still be damp but not dripping. This is a great option for short and long coats (especially when it's a little cooler!) as it helps them to dry quicker and can remove some of the excess hair!

For an extra $5 we can also trim your dog's nails for you.

BUT WAIT.... THERE'S MORE!

We give you the option to pre pay for 10 washes at a time and this gives you great savings!

For 10 towel dries pay $110 which is only $11 per wash!

For 10 partial dries for a short coat pay $140 which is only $14 per wash!

For 10 partial dries for a long coat pay $150 which is only $15 per wash!

We keep track of your pre paid washes for you, so there is no risk of losing any documents or cards. AND the washes have no expiry date, so you can bring your dog in for a bath whenever you like. We will let you know each time how many washes you have remaining.

Prepaid washes can be purchased at anytime during business hours. All Saturday washes require a booking which can be made during the week or on the day. We can sometimes accommodate walk ins, but this is very rare as our Saturday washes book up very quickly, so we recommend booking in advance.

  

Please call 3376 9917 to make your booking and we are happy to answer any questions you may have.