I have been accused of baking cats in the Catty Shack Vac, skinning them to make handbags, forcing them to be groomed, shaving off hair in a #10 reverse that will never grow back, and (gasp!) scruffing them! Apparently I really hate cats. This must also make me one totally awesome entrepreneur! I have somehow convinced thousands upon thousands of cat owners to pay me to do these horrible things to their felines. And some of these cat owners, the ones that don’t elect to have their cats skinned to make a handbag or those with cats that survive the CSV cooking process, actually return for repeat grooming. This is an incredible talent. Wouldn’t you love to know how I do that?!
No, really I don’t hate cats. But you might think so if you read some of the craziness that goes around on the internet. I have to admit I love this craziness. I love the absurd accusations. They make no sense. I could get my feelings hurt over it all. But instead I relish in the fact that, despite the attempts of the few to discredit me and destroy my business endeavors, the cat empire continues to flourish. You see, here’s the thing…..the success or failure of my business endeavors are in the hands of the Creator of the Universe, the sovereign God who made me, my talents, and the cats. He is the one that gives success or takes it away. And I’m totally okay with either scenario. I feel no need to defend myself simply because those who want to destroy hold no power to do so. If God wants to build my business, He will do just that. If He wants to take it away, He will do just that and doesn’t need the assistance of a coward on the internet, hiding behind a computer screen, to do it. That’s just the way it is. And I’m okay with either outcome for my identity is not Danelle German, Cat Groomer. My identity, is Danelle German, child of the living God. And no one can take that away. Ever. What I am perceived as by others has absolutely nothing to do with who I am and the plans laid out for me before the beginning of time. This leads me to #4 on the list of 10 things you probably didn’t know about me: I really don’t care if I’m a cat groomer or not.
I never meant to become a cat groomer or write books on the subject or travel the globe teaching on the topic. The whole thing was dropped in my lap. I started out by simply wanting a Persian cat as a pet to live in my house with my family and sleep on my bed at night. I’ve always admired felines. I wouldn’t go so far as to say that I loved cats back then. I simply thought they were fascinating and exquisite creatures. As a kid I tried to catch some of the feral cats in the neighborhood, determined that I could succeed and eventually train one of these wild creatures to trust me. I never did make that happen, but I learned to respect the wildness of such a small creature that could rip an enemy apart in the blink of an eye. I would look at pictures of the various breeds and marvel at their agility and prowess and standoffishness and uniqueness. I was particularly drawn to the Persian with it’s flat face and long, flowing coat. I thought it would be nice to have one as a pet one day. And then one day, it was one day. We got a Persian. His name was Pojo’s Moving Target of Bara, and he was a show-quality kitten. The breeder invited me to a show. And that was how it all began.
The show grooming of Target quickly became the show grooming of other Persian cats, which led to running a cat for a National Win with CFA. That led to more running of cats toward other titles and wins, and, along the way, a vet asking if she could give my phone number to some of her clients with cats in dire need of grooming care. In a span of time that would make your head spin, I had 80 accidental clients. I figured there was something to this cat grooming thing and, with some real effort, a marketing plan, and huge amounts of determination, this might go somewhere. And it did. It went everywhere!
I can’t begin to tell of the many things that have come out of a simple desire to have a pet kitty. From selling dirty cat hair for $113/lb to being invited to join the world-renowned Wahl Xtreme Team, from having products and tools made by other manufacturers to suit my needs to a shampoo company with worldwide distribution, from the inventing and patenting of a drying system to appearances in magazines and newspapers around the world….. the list goes on and on. It has become quite clear to me, God has a fabulous sense of humor.
I don’t hate cats. I am thankful for them. I am thankful for the weirdness of this whole adventure for it is what reminds me that this is not of my doing. It reminds me that I’m not in charge. I am along for the ride – to work hard using the talents and gifts God has blessed me with and seek to give Him glory for what has been and whatever tomorrow holds.
Thanks for reading!
PS. I’ve added a comment option to all of my blog posts here. I would love to hear from you all!
Other blog topics thus far:
Too Much Stress!
Essentials
My 6 Things Lists
What is a Thing?
I Got Arrested
Married at 15
I’m a High School Dropout