Oliver Has a Spa Day – And He Enjoys it!

“Oh garçon, another catnip martini if you please.”

Hello Furiends!
I had quite the experience this week when The Human took me for a spa day! Now lest you think The Human was completely altruistic in doing this, let me provide a bit of background. One day, The Human came across a place on social media that was fairly close to our neck of the woods called The Catnip Getaway. She was absolutely shocked when she saw photos of piles of hair next to various felines, and not all of those felines were long-haired. She began to wonder if Julie Rosengrant, the owner and operator of The Catnip Getaway could do the same miracles for me. The Human calls me the “sheddiest” cat she’s ever known and a look at the daily collection inside the vacuum monster will attest to this. But I digress.

The Human decided she’d make an appointment for a spa day for me. She did this with some trepidation as she was concerned that the long drive and the grooming itself might stress me out and bring on another bout of idiopathic cystitis (and those of you who follow our blog knew this was not a fun time for me last August). We decided to do the treatment as Julie is a vet tech and The Human felt comfortable that Julie would keep a close eye on me.

The 50-minute drive was uneventful and I was surprised to see the beautiful, quiet spot where the Catnip Getaway was located.

I did travel in my soft-sided carrier and also wore my stylish vest and matching leash. When we got inside I took a stroll around and quickly decided I was ready to leave.

“Nice place, thanks for showing us around. Let’s go Human!”

The place was nice but that big metal table reminded me a bit too much of the table at the stabby place. I was comforted that the human spa person was not wearing a white coat and instead, had a colorful apron decorated with cats. The Catnip Getaway is also a feline resort and it’s a pretty cool place (more about that and some of the guests there a bit later).

The scary metal table.
The lovely feline hotel area.

I decided I would stay and see what this spa thing was all about. After I was divested of my vest, a “happy hoodie” was put over my head to protect my ears from water. Granted, I may not look too happy but I really didn’t mind it. The first order of business, before the bath was a Mani Pedi. Note, a Mani Pedi at the spa is way better than The Human’s ineffective efforts.

How do you like my “happy hoodie?”

After my nails were purrfect, the next step was the bath. To make sure no water got into my ears, I was fitted with a little cone (NOT a cone of shame) to keep my happy hoodie and ears dry. The bath felt good, the kitty shampoo was great and the massage I got as the shampoo was applied made me purr!

One thing that shocked The Human was how dirty my coat was! I groom myself constantly, she drags out the vacuum monster and mops the floors every day but I wasn’t as pristine as we thought I would be.

And speaking of the vacuum monster, The Human had some BIG reservations about the blow drying portion of my visit. The vacuum monster at the place was way louder than the one that lives at our house (so loud Julie had to wear earphones!). And, in order to get the blow dry done, I would have to have all 21 1/2 pounds of myself inside a glass cage. First, I got a nice towel dry and then into the chamber of the vacuum monster. The Human was a bit nervous about this part but I sailed right through it!

Once I was fluffed and dried, the real work began. Combing, combing and more combing and fortunately, small breaks for a lick or two of Inaba Churu treats. I don’t know any feline that doesn’t love these treats!

And the results? As amazing as all the photos The Human saw on The Catnip Getaway’s Facebook page!

Yes, I am a handsome fellow!
Good grief, you could make a couple more cats out of all that fur!

My spa experience was purrfect and didn’t make me nervous at all. As a matter of fact, I slept on the ride home. As I noted, there is a lovely cat hotel there and The Human went to say hello to some of the guests there. Three kittens were staying in the same room and they were very cute, as were all the guests. Every room was immaculate, had a big window view and a bird feeder hanging in front of the window. And all the guests have the opportunity to leave their rooms, stretch their legs and explore the Catnip Getaway guest area. Nice amenities!

So, would I recommend the Catnip Getaway? I enjoyed it and will be happy to go again. Aside from The Humans over fascination with the kittens staying there, I’d give it a two paws up. And The Human said the results were everything she hoped it would be and more and she’s ready to get some of her black items out of the closet and try to wear them again!

Do yourself (and your humans) a favor and book a spa day at The Catnip Getaway!