The Cat Groomer

Before grooming

My cat, Virginia McCatskey (namesake of the grand dame of football, Virginia McCaskey, owner of the Chicago Bears) is formidable. Not only formidable in attitude, and personality, but size as well. She is a beautiful, long-haired calico with a haughtiness that is unmatched in the feline world. She is also - how do I put it delicately – tubby. Because of her rotund shape and long hair, she has difficulty cleaning herself.




Recently upon a visit to the La Grange Park Cat Clinic, I noticed they have a service called ‘sanitary clipping.’ Just what the old girl needs. I take her there every eight weeks or so to have this service performed. Keeping ‘the area’ clean helps prevent infection and bad odor. While I was there, I picked up a brochure from The Cat Groomer and this week, I called on her to restore my kitty’s dignity and beauty.



Cheryl Maibusch refers to herself as a trifecta. She has some unique offerings to cat owners: 1) she is a cat groomer; 2) she is a certified cat groomer and 3) she comes to your house.



Cheryl has a very cool, fully equipped tall van that proudly announces that she is The Cat Groomer. She arrived about noon the other day with her able assistant, Kristin Davis. I was curious as to how the whole operation works, so Cheryl gave me a quick tour of the inside.



The van is very clean, warm and has a washing station, a drying station and also a special clear plastic box where kitty is placed with not-so-intense drying and relaxation after the trauma of the bath. It is in this box that Cheryl places her hands through holes on the side of the box and grooms, cuts, brushes your cat.



Cheryl has photos that she will show you to determine the length that you would like your cat, whether you want a mane or whether you want the lion cut, where the body is shaved, the tail is shaved but for a poof on the end and the head is left mane-like. Virginia has magnificent spots on her body, so I like them to show. I left it up to Cheryl’s discretion as to how the cat’s head and mane would be trimmed.

Though I did not venture into the van during the actual coiffing, I did not hear any screeches coming from the driveway. From all reports, Virginia did quite well and was very pleased with her new look. She gazed at us all day with confidence in knowing that she looks beautiful. Still tubby, but beautiful…and clean!

Contact the Cat Groomer at 630-432-1799 or view her website at TheCatGroomer.com.



Kristin Davis



The Cat Groomer



Cheryl, the trifecta of cat grooming





The lovely Virginia