The boys have a trip to the cat groomer coming up on Wednesday the 18th. I may have to ask for a longer final length on their hair than usual now that Fall is almost here on the High Plains.

This is how cool it was at 6:48 AM today. Fall is around the corner!

Actually, other than the problematic butt hair (poop balls) and armpit hair (mats), both Dougy and Andy seem to handle longer hair better than they used to. They are cuter and more Persian cat-esque with longer hair, too! Persians have that “owl face” thing about them that I find especially appealing.

Their hair takes on some very attractive qualities when it’s longer, too. You see more of the characteristic “smoke Persian” pelage qualities, something you can see in yesterday’s photo of Dougy in the box that I used for my Christmas stamp and card illustration. Those highlights on his coat actually are the effect of how light hits it.

Smoke Persian qualities show on the boys when their hair is longer.

Though the boys seem to be black cats, they are more multi-colored, with soft shades of grays ranging to darker grays, then black on their legs, shoulder, faces, and hindquarters, depending on how light hits them. They are very dramatic cats when in motion!

Better grooming is a big part of the reduced hair issues. Andy doesn’t need much brushing because he has less undercoat than Dougy, but neither has had a problem with bad hair mats since I started taking them to Sarah, their groomer. She’s a cat-grooming goddess! I like Sarah! More importantly, the boys are good boys for her: They like Sarah, too!

Speaking of Sarah, who regards Andy and Dougy as her favorites, I intend to start tipping her. Until my Seattle sister mentioned she tipped her boy’s groomer, it hadn’t occurred to me to do the same. Sarah’s excellent care of my boys means they are cleaner, I don’t have to watch out for poop balls or wash poop (“poop baths”) out of their hair.

Sox the tuxedo cat, Andy and Dougy’s Seattle cat cousin.

I don’t know what a reasonable tip for a pet groomer might be, but I’m starting out with a generous one that is the sum of what I would have tipped Sarah from the first session till the one on the 18th.

I can’t emphasize how much difference her excellent work’s made in the lives of the boys, or, for that matter, mine! I was close to finding a new home for them, the poop issue was so bad. I would have missed out on a lot of joy in my life….