Since my mind is usually running 200 MPH at all times, a lot goes through my head. Thoughts, opinions and plans. I have hesitated to express my opinion on this matter as I don’t want to offend anyone. But it won’t go out of my head.
In the cat grooming world there are two schools by which you can get trained at to become a Certified Master Cat Groomer. I have two titles myself and am a certifier for one of them. I took all the tests, oral and written. And paid good money to achieve the titles. Since I had already been grooming for over 8 years in my own cat grooming salon, I felt I deserved the title. I had earned it. As cat grooming has become more popular, more and more people are choosing this as their career path. After all, the demands have increased as more people now own cats in households than dogs. So it would make sense. I have had two groomers come to me for a working audition in my salon with the “Master Groomer” title. They could not groom nor could they handle a challenging cat. It has bothered me ever since. So what is the difference between someone like myself who has been a salon owner and a cat groomer for 16 years, and someone who passes a few tests and receives the same title? I think it does the world of cat grooming a disservice to award these titles out so freely. And it also does cats and their owners a disservice as well. After all, a carpenter is an apprentice for 2 years before he is considered a journeyman carpenter. That makes sense to me. I feel there needs to be levels of certification. Apprentice 1, Apprentice 2, etc. Not only does this provide credibility to the organizations for which these titles are being awarded, it provides credibility to the profession itself. Passing a few tests does not make you a “Master” of anything really. It just means you paid several thousand dollars to hang a certificate on the wall. The term Master implies credibility. It is defined by someone skilled in their trade, an artist who is regarded as great, one holding an advanced degree, highly skilled in their trade and one who is experienced in their craft. I think back to the groomers who auditioned for my salon. I would not have allowed them to groom any of my clients cats. They were tentative at best. Experience matters. It takes time to experience many scenarios we face in the day of a cat groomer. You can’t take a test for that. I think both organizations have wonderful information, and I certainly learned a lot that I use daily in my salon, but in order for us to present as true professionals, the standards need to change. We want to be viewed as highly skilled professionals. I believe in order to do so, changes need to be made. After all, we are working with people’s cherished family pets. They deserve the best and should expect it from someone holding a “Master” title.
