Cat Around Town 

feline Exclusive Grooming

What type of Customers do you accept? 

We are not accepting new customers for ANY REASON at this time. This is because we have enough regular customers to keep us busy full time and beyond. Justine also plans to retire in the next 6 years and will be transitioning to more of a remote teaching role. She hopes to eventually be able to groom every other week and travel to teach other cat groomers on the bi-week to help more groomers learn to groom cats better so that there will be more options for cat grooming in the future. New customer requests will not be approved. 

My Cat has FLEAS. Can you De-Flea it? 

We hate fleas. We also do not believe in the efficacy of flea shampoos or the safety of "dips". All flea shampoos say to "keep out of eyes" or "keep away from face", so what you have are fleas running across the face and hiding in the ears. Flea shampoos do not have any residual effects. They will only kill while they are on the pet, so as soon as you take that cat back home, the fleas will jump right back on the cat. 1 female flea can lay 10,000 eggs.  Dips may have a 2 week residual effects, but usually contain potent pesticides. Will all the advancements in flea control, there is no need to bathe or dip a cat,* for the purpose of controlling fleas*. We highly recommend ADVANTAGE, or capstar, *along with a spray for your home*.

     Now, if a cat comes in with a few fleas, we WILL use a flea shampoo on the body, and a natural flea shampoo on the face. This is so that we do not transfer fleas to the other pets in the shop. Please use advantage or capstar prior to your grooming appointment. You don't want fleas in your home...and we don't want them in our shop.     In addition... Do NOT go out and buy anything with the word "spot" in the name. Just because it comes in a tube and goes between the shoulder blades, does NOT mean, it is the same stuff the veterinarians sell. We can not stress this enough. There have been many, many reports of over the counter flea medicine making cats sick, and i have seen 2 cats have seizures after having these pet store products used on them.

What type of cat CAN'T you groom? 

We are like the Island of Misfit toys but for cats that have issues due to age, health and behavior, however, we do not groom "fractious" cats. A fractious cat is one that is irrational and can't be "reasoned" with. It is the kind of cat whose actions are totally uncontrollable. This could be the cats instinct, or it could be a reaction to something, such as the noise of the water sprayer. The best way to explain this is to watch this video of "Pinky the cat". At 17 seconds, you will hear a noise that upsets Pinky and once Pinky gets upset, everyones safety is at risk. We can not groom Pinky the cats. We perform thousands of grooms a year and we only get about 5 of these a year, but it can happen and will make us stop the groom immediately, for everyones safety: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=okZW3_5Gr4s

Will you sedate my pet?

Absolutely not! We would never administer any oral medicines of any kind to your pet. However, if you feel that your pet may need a light sedation, to take the edge off, you should discuss that with your veterinarian. The only medication we prefer to groom cats on is GABAPENTIN. NEVER give your pet any type of sedation without OUR prior knowledge. Oral sedation can make some pets feel more vulnerable and less in control and actually make them more inclined to bite. NEVER administer antihistamines to your pet prior to grooming. Keep in mind that while they can calm some animals, others may have the opposite effect and be highly agitated for grooming. If your pet needs to be sedated by your veterinarian by use of injections, we can work with your vet to arrange a time to groom your pet directly at the veterinary office of your choice. This way we can monitor your pet and provide immediate assistance if assistance is necessary. 

Update: With owner's permission, we have begun to experiment with the use of CBD oil for some of our nervous or anxious cats. CBD oil is an over the counter oral drop that can help to relax a nervous cat. We have seen improvement in 95% of the cats that we have used this with. We do not use this for our sakes. We do not really care if we get shredded.  We do want each cat to have the best experience that it can have. We WILL NOT give CBD oil without your permission. We will let you know if your cat might be a candidate for CBD oil. It's not that we give it out like candy. We groom a lot of cats that love to be groomed but because of our experience and expertise, we groom a high volume of cats that have been declined for service by other grooming shops. Sometimes we are their last resort before veterinary sedation.  CBD oil contains no THC. We are currently using 90mg CBD oil from www.treatibles.com. If you have any questions about CBD oil, feel free to contact us.

What are your hours?

Week One:

Sunday: Boarding Only 

Monday: Boarding only

Tuesday: Boarding only

Wednesday: 3pm - 9pm

Thursday through Saturday : 9am - 3pm

Week Two: 

Sunday : Boarding Only 

Monday : Boarding Only 

Tuesday : 9pm - 3pm 

Wednesday : 3pm - 9pm 

Thursday/Friday : 9am - 3pm 

Saturday : Boarding only 

These are our standard GROOMING HOURS. I add hours and days when I can. I may work later or start earlier to groom or take care of boarding cats. When we have boarding cats I come back in the evening. I may work 5 hours on Boarding only days but calls and texts are only returned during business hours. 

Between grooming, boarding, cleaning and administrative tasks I work between 50-60 hours a week. Do NOT ask me to do more. 

Can I stay with my cat? 

​We do let owners stay with their pets during the grooming. We LIKE for the owners to see how their pet is treated and how thorough the grooming process is. Because a full groom can take 1-3 hours, most owners opt to head back home or take advantage of Waterfront Shopping. Our shop is located 15 minutes from the Waterfront in Homestead. Shopping is also available in the Village Shopping Center where we are located. The Thrift Store is a popular spot. 

If the cat is aggressive, we need individuals who have been specially trained to help groom difficult cats. Even the smallest cat bite can lead to terrible infection and possible hospitalization for the groomer, which would result in loss of income. Cat bites can also cause nerve damage that can lead to inability to work. If you would like to hold your non-aggressive pet, you will need to sign a waiver in the case that you are injured.

What is your cancellation Policy? 

Effective Immediately - We have a new cancellation policy. If your appointment is not cancelled 24 hours before your appointment or if you no show/no call you will have to pay the FULL PRICE (No tax) for the cost of the appointment that was booked before being allowed to reschedule. We have always tried to keep our pricing fair and to continue to do that we can not afford to have repeated no shows or last minute cancellations. Because of the personal/individual service that we provide, we are like a restaurant with 1 table, If you fail to keep your reservation and we do not have time to replace the appointment, we lose money. It's not the 1 appointment that effects us, it's the 6-7 throughout the week. If we have enough notice we can try to fill your spot from our cancellation list and we will be honest and let you know if we do. If we can fill the spot, you will not be charged. Please keep in mind that if you have an issue with this policy, YOU DO NOT HAVE TO PAY, however, any future attempt to reschedule will be declined.