At the groomer's

When André's family came to visit recently from Europe, Hunter and I got quiet a bit of attention. Most of them had never seen us before and only heard some of the stories about us. So when Sue told some that I hadn't heard before I listened with interest.

According to Sue it started with Hunter developing some mats in his fur which couldn't be combed out. He doesn't like it at all if something pulls too hard on his fur. It could be because of the shape his coat was in when he was brought to the Human Society as a baby. The staff had to completely shave him when he first got there. Maybe they had tried to comb him to the point where he just couldn't take the pulling any longer. After that experience he doesn't like being shaved either.

Anyway, he had those mats and André and Sue figured it would be easiest to bring him to the groomer and let a professional do the job. When Hunter and Sue arrived, the groomer had just finished with a dog and put him back into a cage. A second dog (both of them larger than Hunter by the way) was waiting to be picked up, too. As soon as they smelled a cat in the room they both started to bark and stand up in the front of their respective cages. You should have seen the look on the groomer's face when only moments later both dogs retreated to the back and lay down quiet and intimidated after Hunter had given them a piece of his mind!

So the groomer gets ready to cut the fur mats out and Sue takes her jacket off to give her a hand. Let the fun begin: Hunter puts up a major fight and no matter how much Sue tries to hold him, the situation quickly turns into a wrestling match. After a lengthy struggle they're finally done and the groomer is very happy to see Hunter back in his carrier. She advises Sue that she will not take Hunter back should he need more trimming. Sue would have to bring him to the vet who could do the job after giving Hunter a tranquilizer.

Now as you can see in Hunter's pictures his fur is really long - up to 4 inches - and this causes the mats. It's just impossible to keep his coat clean without help. So one year after the trip to the groomer there is no avoiding it any longer: Hunter's coat needs some trimming and off he goes to the vet where they have a really tough time doing the job even after they had given him not one but two shots of tranquilizer! Next time, they say, they will have to put him under a full anesthesia to do the job again!

Hunter looked kind of cute though: completely shaved except for his head, paws and tail. And he has not to go back since André found a way to groom him at home. One day, a bit frustrated with the situation, André grabbed the comb and got to work rather roughly. And surprise: Hunter doesn't mind at all - he even likes it that way. Problem solved! Maybe he is just ticklish!

Funny story, eh? See you around
trapper