Saturday, January 24, 2009

The Lion Cut

Twice a year I take my now 11-year-old cat, Charlie, into The Golden Paw to get groomed. Since we go so rarely, when we do go, we go all out. Meaning he doesn't just get the standard shampoo, clip and nail-trim. He gets the "lion cut." This is where the groomer shaves the cat's fur down to the skin everywhere except around the head, feet and tip of the tail so that the cat ends up resembling, what else, a lion.

See. ROAR! Watch out daddy long-legs.

I love doing this for my cat because he's a Maine coon (a long-haired breed), and an outside kitty whose care takes a way-far-back-of-the-bus seat to my two kids. The result being his long hair gets kind of matted and tangled, and there might be the occasional hair ball. The lion cut allows him to grow out a whole new coat of fur every six months making up for my, um, neglect.

According to this article I found, there are some people who think anyone who subjects their cat to the lion cut should be subjected to the wrath of PETA. My neighbors just think he looks kind of creepy. But I think he looks pretty spiffy. So does he. After his lion cut, Charlie struts around doing his alley cat impression, becomes more affectionate, and is just a whole lot happier cat. Did I mention he also gets a blueberry facial? I am a very guilty cat-owner.

2 comments:

Alice Q. Foodie said...

Oh man, they totally suckered me into the blueberry facial when I used to take Bart and Lola there. They finally kicked Bart out of day care because he was a bad boy, so we don't go anymore - it would be too heartbreaking!

My friend does the lion cut on her Persian cats - it works great. PETA thinks fish should be called sea kittens -- so don't worry too much about what they think!

a pretty pill said...

this post has me aching with laughter for so many reasons.
-sea kittens...really? my side is hurting.
-blueberry facial...really? where do i sign him up?
-the lion cut is truly one of the best (and def. most hilarious) things you can do for long haired cats. you call yours lion, i call mine clydesdale;)