Case Studies

“Hi, I’m Holly the founder of Furry Purry Formby, a specialist Cat Grooming service based in Formby, Merseyside. 

My journey into cat grooming began with a simple love for cats. I’ve always had a natural connection with them, and over time, that passion turned into a calling.

I trained professionally through iPET network in 2024, where I gained both the practical skills and the confidence to groom cats safely, gently and expertly. Volunteering at my local cat rescue centre increased my confidence in handling challenging behaviour and so, in 2025 I felt ready to launch my business as a professional cat groomer.

Starting a new business can be daunting, but the support I’ve received has made all the difference. One of the most invaluable resources on this journey has been our Cat Grooming WhatsApp group. It’s more than just a chat – it’s a lifeline. The advice, encouragement, and shared experience from fellow groomers has been incredibly helpful. Whether it’s talking through tricky grooms or sharing product tips, I’ve always felt supported and uplifted.

A special shout-out goes to Jo Wallace; Jo’s knowledge, patience and unwavering support have helped us all grow in confidence and skill. She’s never too busy to answer a question, offer guidance or just check in with a kind word. 

Thanks to this amazing community, and with a heart full of love for cats, Furry Purry Formby is now proudly on the road – ready to pamper your Purry ones with care and kindness.”

Sam Sutton began training as a professional dog groomer in 2022. At the time, she was working across three part-time roles within schools and was seeking greater flexibility alongside a transferable skill that could support future relocation opportunities.

Her initial training was completed at Four Paws on an intensive five-day course, undertaken with her daughter. Following this, they launched a home-based grooming service, gradually building a client base while balancing other work commitments.

In 2023, Sam returned to Four Paws to achieve her Diploma in Dog Grooming. Over the following two years, she transitioned fully into grooming, leaving her other employment to focus on the business full-time by 2024.

Recognising the importance of offering a comprehensive service, Sam expanded into cat grooming. Upon completing her dog grooming diploma, she contacted Four Paws to explore further training in feline care and subsequently began her professional development in this specialist area.

Sam’s long-term vision is to increase her cat grooming services, offering clients greater flexibility and a dedicated luxury environment tailored specifically for feline care. At present, she operates from a conservatory studio, maintaining separate schedules for dogs and cats to ensure a calm and stress-free experience for all pets.

In addition, Sam has plans to train her dog in lost pet services, further expanding the support she can offer to the local community

“I have always worked quite random jobs, no two jobs have been the same and my most recent job was a parcel delivery manager role. Parcel companies are so competitive with each other but also with so many people ordering only it was a very fast paced challenging, reactive setting that had such a fun turn around every day. With a young child at school this job gave me no work life balance. My phone was going off from 7am to 9pm and even when at home I would be on my laptop a lot of the time. I did love what I did as I was always aiming to be the best I could be, but it was for nothing and I wasn’t getting the quality time with my family I needed.

My partners sister in law does Cat Grooming in another region and one day asked me why it isn’t something I looked at. I thought he was joking and laughed it off but after looking online, I realised how sparse Cat Grooming actually is.

I couldn’t find any Cat Grooming, particularly mobile, so I looked at what courses were available and that is where I was put into contact with Jo!

I got in touch and we sorted out me doing the IPET Cat Grooming Course with her on my days off from work. The course was amazing and in a 1 to 1 setting so it felt less pressured for me due to having anxiety. 

Jo is an amazing tutor. She makes you feel comfortable, is always approachable if you need help, and teaches mainly through hands-on learning, which makes everything easier to understand. Jo helped answer any questions I had and in the background I started sorting out my business website, leaflets, business card and my Facebook page. I also made sure during training that I would take as many pictures as I could so I could use these for my website/Facebook page to show my journey. 

Once I had passed my course and completed my website, I gave my notice in ready to start my new journey. When I left, my colleagues were surprised and asked the question many people do: ‘Cat Grooming is a thing?’ I once wondered the same, thinking cats groom themselves. However, professional grooming is very much needed and is highly beneficial for cats.

I was a little anxious leaving my stable salaried job that also came with a company car, it was a lot to leave if my business didn’t work out. My first few months were scary, I basically had to go out in the big world once I had done my training, and as much as I had done my training, it did still feel like I was jumping in to the deep end. When you have been doing a job you know like the back of your hand for so long, doing something completely new feels very scary.

I did have a lot of uptake with the fact that people had never seen a Cat Groomer before, so I was always completely transparent for my own piece of mind that I was new to it so things may take a bit longer and I may have needed a few sessions rather than 1. With me being nervous the first few months the cats will have sensed that, so one bit of advice is to go in confident, as cats can sense everything! I feel after a few months I turned a corner where I realised I could do this. I was getting more efficient quicker, I was more confident and the cats sensed I was more confident so they were more at ease!

I’ve been going over a year now, with lots of clients and a much quicker service. 

How I built up my business the most was just keep advertising, post anything you’ve done. Join Facebook groups for the areas you cover and share your posts there. Make sure you schedule a post for the groups once a week, keep bumping them, get everyone else to share your posts. I also posted leaflets in the local area. I post my business posts on my personal Facebook also. A small budget advert on Google and Facebook massively helped me. I’m now at a point where I don’t really post in groups anymore because a lot is word of mouth and recommendations. It does take a little time to build up but I always recommend being 100% honest with people. Even now I may say to people that I might not be able to do a job in one go depending on the cats temperament. 

But my biggest advice is believe in yourself and have the confidence you deserve to radiate because you can do it!

I get to see cats everyday, I get to spend time with my child and work around my schedule. I also still have the support of Jo and all of the other Cat Groomers where we speak and share advice. It’s a wonderful community that I absolutely recommend being a part of.”

Tiffany’s contact details:

- pppcatgrooming@outlook.com

- 07720809180

“I have had a long and varied working life. I left school at 16 and began working for the Inland Revenue in my hometown of Preston, Lancashire. At 19, after getting married, I moved to Burnley with my husbands job. A year later, I had my son, followed by my middle daughter two years after, and then my youngest. Because of my husbands career in the insurance industry, we moved house roughly every 4 years. While living in Hertfordshire, and with my children in primary school, I worked first as a School Secretary and later as the school matron. 

In 1982, when my children were in secondary school, I moved to Birmingham. The move marked the end of my marriage, and as I now had to support myself, I enrolled part-time at university to study for a law degree while working for an estate agent. After graduating, I began working as a lawyer for various films, specialising in Conveyancing, Wills and Probate. Five years after my divorce, I met and married a partner in a firm of solicitors.

With his retirement from the Law Practice, my husband went to work for West Mercia Police and as by this time – 15 years down the line – I had become disillusioned with Private Practice and I also moved to West Mercia Police taking 101 and 9s calls and then dispatching officers. Then following a house move to where we are now in North Birmingham I transferred to West Midlands Police – again 9s, 101 calls supervising and training a team of young civilian call handlers.

Again 15 years of this found me disillusioned again and unable to pay into my pension. By this time I had a Ragdoll and during lockdown acquired a Maine Coon. Marley the Maine Coon is the reason I now run a mobile cat grooming business. 

I had been looking for a cat only groomer as though Rosie the Ragdoll is low maintenance, her brother Marley is not and needs regular grooming to stop his undercoat from matting – and so I found Lili Your who runs a cat grooming business from home in Birmingham. We hit it off straight away and I was bitten by the grooming bug. I attended the cat grooming school in East London for 2 courses and on my return Lili suggested that I should continue my training. I spent 6 months with Lili before venturing out with my own mobile cat grooming business. Lili works out of a salon in her garden and to gain an insight into doing the job mobile I spent a day with Michelle in South Wales – she has been a police officer – who was very helpful and happy to share her knowledge.

I started Meow Magic around 18 months ago, inspired by my love of cats and the encouragement of friends. With Michelle’s help, I was able to launch my website – complete with Marley as my logo. Over time, I’ve tried different ways to spread the word, from advertising on my car to leaving cards and flyers with local vets and catteries. But I’ve found that nothing works better than simple word of mouth. The kind reviews and recommendations from happy clients have brought me most of my business, and I’m so grateful for the trust people place in me to care for their cats.

Over the past 18 months, my business has grown consistently, and I am frequently booked weeks ahead with a mix of new and old clients. While I have chosen not to work full-time, finding time off remains a challenge.

Looking ahead, I plan to continue offering mobile visits a couple of days a week, but I’m also exploring the idea of renting a pod at a nearby garden centre. The idea came about after a visit to a new hairdresser, who introduced me to another client that owns a garden centre. Having a pod would allow me to see more cats in a day without the travel time between locations, and it comes with the added benefit of free parking and a coffee shop for clients who may wish to wait. The particular pod I’m interested in was previously used for dog grooming, so it already has electricity and water in place.

It’s still very much a work in progress, but developing and growing the business in this way fells both exciting and rewarding.”