How we groom our cats, and why we never rush it

Grooming at Fluffydolls Cattery

Every Fluffydolls cat is groomed by the same hands that gave them their first bath here as a kitten, and every month after.
Your cat sets the pace, the products are chosen for their coat and skin, and you go home with a report card on how it went and what to keep up in between.

Here is how we do it, what it costs, and why we start young.

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AT A GLANCE

Grooming for Fluffydolls Kittens

  • Grooming Rates from $100

    A standard groom, priced by coat type and weight.

  • First groom free

    Within the first month after go-home day, for every Fluffydolls kitten.

  • 2 to 4 hours, sometimes 6

    Most salons cap a session at around 90 minutes. We plan ours around your cat’s pace.

  • We raise your cat together

    Every visit builds on the last. Not a drop-off, not a one-off, and never on your own.

  • Your cat has a record

    Habits, preferences, what they loved last time, what frustrated them, what to try next. All of it in your Central Health Hub.

  • An integrated health hub update

    What we saw, how they did, the products we used and what to keep up at home, updated in your cat’s integrated health hub platform.

Your cat was bathed, brushed and handled here weeks before you met them.
Coming back each month is the same care, carried on.

Familiar hands, the same room, the same people, every time.

John, Fluffydolls Cattery founder, combing a brown tabby Maine Coon lying relaxed on the round grooming table in the Singapore grooming room. 
Learned by doing

The way we groom, based on years of hands-on experience

Fluffydolls Cattery founder John first trained overseas, learning how to shower a cat professionally. Since then he has taken a new course every year, each with a different groomer, so there are always fresh insights from practitioners in the industry to adapt to his own way of working with the cats in his care.

Years of showering and handling kittens have given him a strong intuition for this work. Watching what made one cat tense and what settled another, he has developed a grooming philosophy and method that is his own.

"I've handled and showered so many kittens over the years, and honestly a lot of it was trial and error. Over time you learn what works. The goal was never to get it done quickly. It was to get them to understand that water, bathing, drying and nail cutting are nothing to be afraid of."

John, Founder, Fluffydolls Cattery

Tabby Maine Coon cradled on John's lap while he trims with a cordless clipper, one of the dry steps done before the bath. 
OUR GROOMING PHILOSOPHY

We start grooming for kittens from a young age

Our kittens are showered and handled long before they meet you. The first wash comes soon after they land, when a long flight has left them needing one. From then on, nail clipping, paw pad shaving, ear cleaning and brushing become part of ordinary life here, along with having their paws, face, ears, mouth, body and tail handled. They are groomed again before go-home day, by which point none of it frightens them.

That sets a good foundation and makes everything afterwards easier. Coming back every month, the cat keeps learning and trusting the process a little more each time.

It is normal for a new kitten to be unsure of grooming at first. Our job is to make sure nothing we do adds to that. Our goal is that over time, they come to realise there was nothing about grooming to be uncomfortable with after all. We will not promise you a cat who loves being groomed, but cats who groom at Fluffydolls Cattery stay relaxed through a session, do not fight the bath, and sometimes even enjoy the warm soak in the basin.

Tabby Maine Coon standing calmly in the basin as John rinses the shampoo out by hand with a cup of water.

We provide personalised grooming care for every kitten

Grooming at your cat’s pace

Some are confident from their very first shower and barely notice. Others are more cautious and need the whole thing broken into much smaller steps. We work at the pace of the kitten in front of us and stop where that kitten stops. What we see, over and over, is that they get easier each time.

A shampoo blend customised to your cat’s fur

Every cat here gets their own customised mix, rather than the same generic shampoo and conditioner for everyone. Think of it as an omakase facial for your cat’s coat. We look at the fur type, the condition of the coat and the skin on the day, then mix and match specialty shampoos and conditioners to suit. No two cats get the same bath, and the same cat may get a different blend next month.

Our 7 steps cat shower process at Fluffydolls Cattery

  • 01

    We start with everything that does not need water: nails, teeth, combing, ears and the sanitary shave. Then your cat goes back to their enclosure for a break.

  • 02

    While they rest, we look over the coat and skin: whether it is oily or dry, dull, yellowing or matted, and whether there is any irritation. That tells us which shampoo base to start from, what to add to it and which conditioner to finish with. Everything is mixed before the water goes on.

  • 03

    If the coat is greasy or oily, it gets a degreasing wash first. A clean, balanced coat skips this step.

  • 04

    Then the shampoo. We start from a base that suits the coat and add what this particular cat needs: a brightening wash for a white coat that has gone dull and yellow, a medicated wash if there is a fungal skin issue to clear, something to bring the volume back to a coat that should be fluffy or the smoothness back to one that should be silky, or extra hydration for dry skin.

  • 05

    If the coat is in really poor condition, one wash is not enough, so we shampoo again rather than leave it half done.

  • 06

    Conditioner is always the last round. Oily skin and dry skin get different conditioners, and either way it is chosen to leave the coat soft and the skin settled.

  • 07

    Drying is the part most cats like least, so this is the step we are most careful with. Wherever we can, we avoid pointing a handheld high-powered dryer at a cat. Instead your cat goes into a relatively quiet drying enclosure and dries off without anyone holding them in place.

Fluffydolls grooming room in Singapore: the bathing basin with shampoo pumps, a trolley of combs and products, two pet drying cabinets and the round grooming table. 
Equipment & set-up

The basin, the products and the dryer, and why we chose each one

Every part of a groom here has been thought through, and so has everything we use to do it. The basin, the shampoos and conditioners, the combs, the way a cat is dried. In each case we chose whatever is least stressful and most comfortable for the cat, rather than whatever is quickest for us.

A day with us

What happens when your cat comes in for a groom

Your cat can be with us for two to four hours, and sometimes as long as six. We are not grooming for six hours straight. Most of that time is your cat deciding when they are ready for the next part.

  • 01.

    We let them settle in first

    Your cat goes into an enclosure in the grooming room and we leave them to take the place in. Some are fine after fifteen minutes. Others need an hour. We wait, and none of that time is wasted.

  • 02.

    We start when they are ready

    There is no next cat waiting for the room. With no appointments booked back to back, the session gets built around your cat instead of around a schedule.

  • 03.

    We let them move

    We do not scruff the neck or hold a cat in position to get something finished. If they wander off, sometimes we let them wander off, wait for them to settle, and come back to it.

  • 04.

    We take breaks when the cat needs one

    Not on a schedule. Some cats go straight through without stopping. Others need the nails done, then a rest, then the ears later and the bath after that. We read it as we go, and your cat decides which kind of day it is.

  • 05.

    We stop when they have had enough

    Even with things left undone. Doing less today and having them come back next month still feeling fine about it beats forcing our way to the end.

  • 06.

    We send you home knowing your cat better

    Every session ends with a debrief, so you know exactly how it went. How your cat handled each part, what we saw in the coat and skin, what went better than last time, and what we want to try next. Then we show you what to keep up at home, so you are not working it out alone. It is all written up as a report card in your Central Health Hub, so you can read it again at home.

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OUR GROOMING METHODOLOGY

The things we won't do during our grooming sessions

Much of what makes grooming stressful for cats is avoidable. These are the things we leave out.

  • We don't hold cats down

    Scruffing and restraint make a groom faster. They also teach a cat that grooming is something done to them. We use as little as we can, and a cone only where there is a real risk of being bitten.

  • No lion cuts or bear cuts

    We shave paw pads and the sanitary area where it is needed. Beyond that, there is no reason to give a Ragdoll, Siberian, British Longhair or Maine Coon a haircut for the sake of looks, and scissoring means holding a cat still far longer.

  • No handheld dryer at a nervous cat

    It is one of the most common reasons a cat comes to hate being groomed, and the right drying set-up makes it unnecessary.

  • No treatments your cat doesn't need

    Working out whether your cat needs dematting or degreasing is our job, not yours. No upgrades, no spa packages, no conversation about add-ons every visit. If your cat does not need something, we do not do it.

  • We don't shave the problem away

    A long haired cat who is eating well and groomed regularly does not need its fur cut short to stay clean. When something is off, we look at the cause, tell you honestly what we think, and deal with that instead.

RECOMMENDED GROOMING FREQUENCY

How often a long haired cat needs grooming & the benefits of a monthly groom.

Most groomers, including us, recommend a monthly groom for a long haired cat. Four weeks is not long enough for a cat to look dirty, but it is long enough for loose undercoat and oil to start building up, and those are the first signs of trouble. Monthly means we catch it before it becomes a mat, a greasy tail or a skin problem.

Brown tabby Maine Coon lying on the grooming table while John trims the fur around the back legs with small scissors.

Your cat never learns to dread grooming

A monthly bath and deshedding do most of the work on the undercoat. The bath washes out the oil that makes loose fur clump, and deshedding lifts it out before it can felt, so mats never get the chance to form. Mats have to be pulled out, and it hurts. A cat who has been hurt once is harder to groom for the rest of their life.

Freshly bathed lynx point kitten wrapped in a towel while John pats the coat dry before the drying cabinet.

An experienced set of eyes, every month

While we groom we are looking closely at ears, gums, skin and body condition. We are not vets, but if something seems off you will hear about it early. It is also a regular moment to ask us about feeding, behaviour, or anything you have noticed at home.

John clipping a tabby Maine Coon's nails on the grooming table, holding the paw gently.

A cat who stays easy to handle, for life

Paws, ears, mouth, the carrier, the car, a stranger's hands. All of it stays ordinary when it happens regularly. That pays off for the next fifteen years, and your vet will notice the difference too.

Blue bicolour Ragdoll kitten with a clean, fluffy coat standing on a cream sofa. 
CARE & PERSONALISATION

A report card after every groom

Because we only groom cats we know, we build up a history with each one. What worked and what did not. How long they took to settle. Which order suits them. What to try next time.

Those notes now live in your Central Health Hub. After each visit, a report card is sent to the app on your phone, with the grooming needs we picked up that day, the services and products we used and why, how your cat handled each part of the session, and what to work on at home until the next one. Nothing gets lost between visits, and you can look back at any session whenever you like.

By the third or fourth visit, most cats are noticeably easier, and so is the whole afternoon.

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Between visits

How to keep your cat comfortable with being groomed

Grooming is not only something we do for your cat. It is something we want you to be able to do too.

That starts at the first session back after go-home day, which is free within the first month. While we groom, we show you how we handle your particular kitten. The easiest way to get their nails done. How to hold them so they stay relaxed. What they are already fine with, and what needs more time. Most of it is easier to show than to explain.

What's worth doing at home

  • Brush regularly, especially behind the ears, under the arms and along the back legs, where tangles start.

  • Handle their paws, ears and mouth while they are young. A little at a time, when nothing else is going on.

  • Leave the carrier out, so it stops being a sign that something unpleasant is coming.

  • Keep an eye on diet and stools. Coat condition tends to follow.

  • Let more than one person handle them, so a new pair of hands is nothing unusual.

Signs your cat's coat needs attention

  • Tangles forming behind the ears, under the arms or around the back legs.

  • A greasy, clumped or darkened tail, common in males.

  • Undercoat that feels dense or cottony rather than loose when you comb through it.

  • Licking, biting or pulling at one spot.

  • A cat who has started avoiding being touched somewhere they used to be fine with.

Pro Tip

Whoever grooms your cat, ask them one question. What happens if my cat says no?

A groomer with appointments booked back to back has to finish, because another cat is waiting for the room, so the answer usually involves some restraint. Ask how long they allow per cat, and whether you can see where the grooming happens. Those two answers tell you most of what you need to know, and if this is a right fit for your cat. 

WHO THIS IS FOR

The cats we groom, and the few we're opening to

For now, grooming is mainly for Fluffydolls cats who came home from us.
It is part of how we look after our kitten families, and it works because we know the cats.

Cream point Siberian with blue eyes resting on a knitted throw, long coat full and tangle-free.

Fluffydolls families

Every cat that came home from us, for life.

Your first session is free within the first month after go-home day, and we would love to see you monthly after that.

Schedule your cat’s grooming via your private Telegram chat with us.

Young Kittens from elsewhere

We are opening a few places to owners whose kitten did not come from us. It is for you if you brought a pedigree kitten home in the last 2 or 3 months, and you want to start before grooming has a chance to become a problem.

We would meet you both first, to see how your kitten takes to being handled. If it is a good fit, they join the regular programme: back about every month through this early stage, while we get them used to bathing, nail clipping, brushing, paw handling and drying.

We will show you how to carry it on at home, and we will ask you to actually do it. This only works if we are both consistent.

Places are limited, and we would rather keep it that way. If your cat is older and grooming has already become a battle, we are probably not the right fit, and we would rather say so now.

Two lynx point Neva Masquerade Siberian kittens sitting side by side on a cream sofa, both with well-kept coats.

Our Grooming Rates

We assess your cat when they arrive and do what suits them. If they do not need something, we do not do it, and we will always tell you before doing anything beyond a standard groom.

Our complete maintenance groom, to keep your cat's skin and coat clean, comfortable and well maintained while keeping its natural coat.

What's included

Bath with shampoo and conditioner chosen for your cat’s coat and skin · brushing and deshedding · nail clipping · paw pad shave · sanitary area shave · ear cleaning · drying
Toothbrushing is free with a standard groom when you bring your cat's own toothbrush.

A-la Carte Services

For cats that do not need a complete session.

Additional Treatments

Only if your cat needs them. We decide at the assessment, before the bath, and we will always tell you first.

Sea mud or full degreasing?

Sea mud is preventative. It manages mild oiliness and keeps the coat in good shape. Full body degreasing is corrective, for a coat that already has heavy grease and needs a stronger clean.

Board & Groom

For cats who need more time than a single visit allows.

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When you're ready

Book your cat's next groom

If you are new here, and would like to join our programme, please fill in the details below and tell us a little about your cat.

We will come back with a time that suits. If it has been a while since the last groom, let us know in advance as it helps us plan the day around them.

Already a Fluffydolls family?

Schedule an appointment for your cat’s grooming via your private Telegram chat with us.