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Cat Grooming at GVC

Cat Grooming

Cat Grooming at GVC

At GVC we know that “Cat Grooming” should reflect the Cat Friendly and Fear Free principles that are so very important to the health and wellbeing of our purry friends!

Grooming is such an important aspect of natural feline behaviour and which impacts:

  • A cat’s health,
  • A cat’s social position and
  • A cat’s personal identity….

For these reasons the team at GVC believe that cat grooming services such as shaving/bathing/assisted cleaning are only beneficial when they are either not going to negatively impact these key aspects of a cat’s welfare or because there is overwhelming evidence of a positive outcome.

In short, this means that cat grooming is not delivered as a cosmetic service. Instead, the decision to intervene with the grooming of our cats will only be made when considered as having a positive impact upon a cat’s health and/or wellbeing.

Therefore, GVC offers assisted cat grooming as a medical procedure for cats that either struggle to groom themselves or that have a medical reason that requires a grooming procedure, for example:

  • When there is a contamination of coat (i.e. chemical/environmental etc)
  • A cat is suspected of, or diagnosed with, Ringworm
  • Arthritic cats that are unable to groom themselves
  • Cats that are unable to groom themselves due to other pain or injury management issues
  • Cats with oral issues that prevent them from grooming effectively
  • Senior long haired cats that will benefit from welfare improvements following a trim (based upon UAE climatic conditions).
  • Heavily matted cats

Medical procedures include:

  • Nail trims
  • Sanitary shaves
  • Mat removal (that cannot be brushed out)
  • Medical body trim (full body trim to a suitable, pre-agreed length

The delivery of these procedures will be assessed based upon medical and behavioural criteria. For example, cats can have nail trims and/or sanitary shaves if tolerated whilst they are conscious using our Cat Friendly and Fear Free approach. However, any cat that does not tolerate these activities will need to be prescribed Pre-visit Pharmaceuticals (PVP) and/or sedated…. This will be decided by a vet and any sedation or PVP will be prescribed/delivered under the appropriate clinical care.

Please note that the below are not available at GVC:

  • Designed cuts (lionshave / teddybear etc)
  • Use of any perfumed shampoos / conditioners / colognes
  • Unnecessary grooming of any animal for cosmetic reasons

By offering cat grooming solely for either medical or welfare purposes we are prioritising the most important outcomes, which are the health and happiness of our fantastic felines!

Learning How Home Grooming Can Benefit Pet Parents

The team at GVC are committed to helping build a greater awareness amongst all pet parents regarding the benefits of assisting their cats with their natural grooming habits at home… these activities can both support our cats to look and feel their best and enable all our purry-pet owners to help their beautiful felines carry out these wonderful, relationship building activities (brushing can be a very pleasurable activity that cats can learn to love…).

Please enquire if you would like to arrange a Nurse Consultation to learn more about the how and why for Home Grooming your cat. The core focus of the Nurse Consultation will be on the therapeutic process between cat and owner that positively reinforces their bond. The team use Icatcare standards to promote and explain the best methods for both the cat’s and their pet-parent’s benefit.

Home grooming activities are such a great way to nurture and strengthen our relationships with our cats… and the more of these activities we can do, the better it is for everyone in your wonderful furry family!

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“An animal’s eyes have the power to speak a great language” – Martin Buber