Little Gifts Posted December 5, 2013 Share Posted December 5, 2013 This issue is about a cat but I am putting it in General given we have had a lot of other groomers discussions here. There is a small pet grooming salon in my town that I used to use as frequently as every 10 days for malaseb baths for foster pei. Since Tempeh only requires a bath every couple of months I have been doing it myself and haven't been at the salon for well over a year. Today for a changed I took her into the salon to get done. As per usual I got to stay with her the whole time. The same two ladies were there working (one owns it and the other seems to be a long term worker) plus there was another older lady there I haven't seen before. The salon was really grotty and it looked like old dirt under the washing tub and in the crevices. The wash tub had a fishy smell about it too down where the door lifts in and out and it was all yicky around the edges. For the first time ever I saw a cat in there. The owner was shaving the coat of this black Persian. She had a muzzle on it and the cat scratched her and it started getting uptight towards the ends of its clip/shave but she didn't mishandle it in any way. Once the cat started playing up her other worker was holding it so she could finish safely for both of them. She needed the cat cage for it and since I was closest I put it up on the table and held the lid while she released the collar and took off the muzzle before we both shut the lid. All good. Then she took the cat in the cage over to the other wash tub and squirted soapy stuff on it. I didn't see her open the cage and rub it in or anything but then she turned the water nozzle on and washed the soap off while the cat was still inside the cage. Then she flipped the cage on its side (upending cat) to get the water out. The cat didn't howl or struggle but I was thinking that must be a little scary being confined in a cage and having water sprayed all over you? Then of course being flipped inside a cage seemed scary to me watching it but I've never seen a cat in a salon before so don't know if that is normal? She lifted the cage out, with the cat still covered in a bit of foam, into the drying room where she lifted it out, rubbed it down with a towel and put it in a bigger cage to dry off. It made no other noise. I told my sister all this when I got home and she said if it made me feel uncomfortable then perhaps its not normal. So I'm wondering if all the wonderful groomers on here can tell me if this is standard and ok for the cat to be washed inside a cat cage? Or is it standard to have one holding and one washing a cat outside of a cage? I appreciate that washing most cats is not a pleasant thing for humans or the cat and that a good groomer needs to balance up what needs to be done with how to do it quickly and safely so you will get no flaming from me. I would of course like to know if my local salon's standards are slipping for some reason. They are far from a boutique salon but have always been good to me, my dogs and our foster dogs. But today I felt some hygiene standards had slipped and they left Temp twice as long in the tub as she needed to be before rinse off, and she was a cold and shaking mess of nerves by then. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cointreau Posted December 5, 2013 Share Posted December 5, 2013 I wouldn't step foot inside there again if that is how they treat a cat. Certainly the cat may not have liked being shaved but to be upended and squirted with soap and then hosed off in a carry cage is cruelty to me. If my cat was treated like that I would report them, (I take my cat the the same groomer my dog goes to) the lack of cleaning is an issue too. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kelpiecuddles Posted December 5, 2013 Share Posted December 5, 2013 If the only way to wash the cat is to do that then the cat should have been sedated and washed at a vet. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mixeduppup Posted December 5, 2013 Share Posted December 5, 2013 If the only way to wash the cat is to do that then the cat should have been sedated and washed at a vet. This Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Christina Posted December 5, 2013 Share Posted December 5, 2013 Have known of this at several places. Handling of cats not good either. No way of knowing how many do it this way if the cats are difficult they won't say so & most clients are not behind the scenes to know about it. No sedation is not always something good as often implied. Sedation at the vets for stressed cats & dogs is kinder. Keep away from there. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alibi Posted December 5, 2013 Share Posted December 5, 2013 I saw a cat hydrobathed in its wire top cage years ago when I did a kennel and cattery course through tafe. Cat wasn't able to be handled so the vet that was teaching us showed us to do that, as well as tipping the cage to let out the water. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Loving my Oldies Posted December 5, 2013 Share Posted December 5, 2013 LG, I would be reporting that place (but to whom, I wonder). I would be telling them of my concerns about how dirty it looked, how long Tempeh stayed in the tub, and your distress about how the cat was washed ......... and that you were never going back. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kirislin Posted December 5, 2013 Share Posted December 5, 2013 Poor cat, I would imagine that would be quite traumatic for it. I'd also be worried your dog might get skin infection from their hydrobath if it's dirty because the water circulates through for the wash cycle. I'd assume the rinse is straight from the tap, but the wash water goes into a holding tank thingy and is pumped around. If it's not cleaned thoroughly after every wash it could spread germs. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
*kirty* Posted December 5, 2013 Share Posted December 5, 2013 That is horrendous. Cats suffer from stress even more so than dogs and I cannot believe someone would do that. That place needs to be reported. That poor, poor cat. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rascalmyshadow Posted December 5, 2013 Share Posted December 5, 2013 (edited) Yet another disgusting misuse of power. That is outright cruelty and I would report it. I groom a few cats without sedation and I make the owner stay and hold them, at any sign of trouble they are told to take it to the vet for sedation. In almost all cases there is no need to wet/bath a cat and I refuse to do it for anyone. Just to add I would stay well clear of any groomer with a drying room. Edited December 5, 2013 by Rascalmyshadow Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dame Aussie Posted December 5, 2013 Share Posted December 5, 2013 Bloody hell, doesn't sound normal to me Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Maeby Fünke Posted December 5, 2013 Share Posted December 5, 2013 Poor cat. That doesn't sound normal to me Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Marion 01 Posted December 5, 2013 Share Posted December 5, 2013 My daughter always had the mobile dog wash come to her house every 6 weeks or so and the two dogs and the two cats would get a bath everytime, and the way her cats were bathed was exactly the same inside a wire cage and they were never harmed or phased by the experience. The thing I would be most worried about in this case would be the grotty salon and the smelly hydrabath. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Simply Grand Posted December 5, 2013 Share Posted December 5, 2013 I was trying to remember here I had heard/seen something similar, I'm pretty sure it was on an old Harry's Practice episode actually, Dr Katrina demonstrated it for pet owners as a way to bath their cat. She did it pretty gently, and from memory had the carrier on its side in the bath tub then scooped water over, different from spraying the cat with a hose! I can see that doing it gently like that might be better for some cats that get really distressed being washed than tying to hold it in a tub or sink when it really doesn't want to be there. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
*kirty* Posted December 5, 2013 Share Posted December 5, 2013 Sorry but I can't believe anyone could think that was OK. Cats rarely need a bath but if they do, that is not an acceptable way to wash them. Can you imagine how terrifying that would be? Why not just put it in a washing machine?!? Bloody hell. Makes me feel sick. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
denali Posted December 5, 2013 Share Posted December 5, 2013 Sorry but I can't believe anyone could think that was OK. Cats rarely need a bath but if they do, that is not an acceptable way to wash them. Can you imagine how terrifying that would be? Why not just put it in a washing machine?!? Bloody hell. Makes me feel sick. I agree with most of your post, except the fact that cats don't need a bath. I feel like they need baths just as much as dogs do. In saying that I think dogs are often bathed too often, but thats a whole different topic. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Maeby Fünke Posted December 5, 2013 Share Posted December 5, 2013 It's probably an old school technique that is now considered out-dated and cruel. I wouldn't be surprised if it came from Dr Harry's show - my great aunt got the idea about hitting a dog with rolled up newspaper from him. She talks about Dr Harry all the time (even though she hasn't had a dog for over 50 years). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Simply Grand Posted December 5, 2013 Share Posted December 5, 2013 Now that I think about it, the only time I've washed cats was if they'd had diahrrea (sp?) and got messy around their bottom, which I've needed to glove up and and scrub with my hand to get out anyway. I agree that cats don't generally need baths. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
*kirty* Posted December 5, 2013 Share Posted December 5, 2013 I said cats rarely need a bath, and I stand by that. Cats do not need to be washed as often as dogs. Most of my cats have never had a bath and never needed one. The show cat has had the odd bath, and my old girl has had a few due to skin problems. It does not need to be a traumatic experience for the cat, but most groomers don't have hours to calmly groom a cat. I clipped and bathed many cats when I was a groomer, and never needed to do anything like that. It is cruel. Would you do that to a dog? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PuddleDuck Posted December 5, 2013 Share Posted December 5, 2013 Poor cat, I would imagine that would be quite traumatic for it. I'd also be worried your dog might get skin infection from their hydrobath if it's dirty because the water circulates through for the wash cycle. I'd assume the rinse is straight from the tap, but the wash water goes into a holding tank thingy and is pumped around. If it's not cleaned thoroughly after every wash it could spread germs. Yes I'd worry about that too, we used to use a local DIY place many years ago and both dogs wound up with itchy and infected feet as a result of poor hygiene The only cats I ever bathed when I was vet nursing were cats with diarrhea or if they'd had a heavy flea burden we would wash them (under sedation) to get the dead fleas and flea dirt out after they'd been treated Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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