When the claws come out
Jennifer Macqueen Simmons travels across the province for her furry clients
TRURO, N. S. – Jennifer Macqueen Simmons has become pretty good at reading her clients. It’s important that she can.
“I can usually tell pretty quickly whether a cat’s going to cooperate,” she says.
“There’s a small percentage who need to have medication from a vet to take the edge off first. Being able to tell which ones those are is the reason I haven’t been bitten.”
Macqueen Simmons operates Jennifur’s Mobile Cat Grooming Service, and travels across Nova Scotia.
For about 20 years, she mainly groomed dogs, but after two major surgeries her doctor told her to refrain from heavy lifting.
A friend suggested a mobile cat-grooming business.
A CEED (Centre for Entrepreneurship Education and Development) program helped her plan a strategy and she opened her business a year ago. She’s based in Upper Sackville and has more than 1,500 clients across the province.
“I love what I do,” she says. “Badly-matted cats are often cranky because they’re in pain, and you see such a big difference when they’re done. I love going to homes and meeting new people, too.
“You have to be calm around the cats. A lot are nervous, and I can’t blame them.”
Most of the cats she grooms are long-haired. Between 150 and 200 are Himalayans, and she finds them the most likely to be difficult.
Theresa Stephens, of Millbrook, has two Himalayans that she has trouble keeping mat-free.
“I looked around town to find a place to have them groomed, then the breeder told me about Jennifer,” she said. “It’s so nice to have her come right to the house. The cats would be more upset if they had to go somewhere else.”
Macqueen Simmons offers maintenance packages, provid- ing regular grooming to prevent matting. She also applies vinyl nail caps and sells toys and other items for cats. For more information, visit Jennifur’s Mobile Cat Grooming on Facebook or call 902-222-9456.