or decades, cats have been the pet industry’s afterthought—the “self-cleaning” animal that got a nail trim at the vet once a year and little else. However, that era is over. The American Pet Product Association dubbed 2025 and 2026 the “Year of the Cat,” and cat groomers everywhere are seeing profitability levels they never would have imagined a decade ago.
It’s clear cat groomers are an underserved, fast-growing market with far less competition. Three cat groomers from around the country—Jennifer Anderson of The Cat’s Meow Grooming Salon just outside Minneapolis, MN; Kasee Artis of That Cat Grooming in Tucson, AZ; and Kristina Robertson of Barkley Square Grooming in Falls Church, VA—share what it’s really like to build (or add) a cat grooming business, and why they believe it’s one of the smartest moves a groomer can make.
“Nobody was really serving the cats—they were sort of second-class citizens, and I wanted that to change,” states Jennifer Anderson, NCMG.
She now employs four full-time cat groomers, and the majority of her clients come in four times a year specifically to prevent matting in the first place, rather than to fix it after the fact.
“Ten years ago the concept was, ‘cats just clean themselves; they don’t need groomers,’” Kristina explains. “It’s so different now. The cat industry is definitely booming.”
She points to the rise of “catios” and live-in pet sitters as evidence of how much cat owners’ habits have changed.
“For so long cats just didn’t get their due,” adds Kristina.
Kasee Artis, CFMG, started her cat grooming career as a mobile groomer and still operates in that same business model, with appointments booked out four months or longer. She credits cat-only veterinarians for helping her build her client base.
“I visit our local veterinarians about twice a month—not only to advertise and bring in business, but to educate them on proper cat grooming,” Kasee shares.
Part of what’s fueling that change, according to all three groomers, is a new generation of owners—and specifically, more young men adopting cats than ever before.
“We were noticing how many cute, handsome, buff guys come in carrying their cats and are just fawning all over them,” Kristina notes. “They’re so compassionate about how we treat them.”
Barkley Square Grooming started as a dog grooming business, but Kristina recently ran the numbers on how offering cat grooming affects her bottom line. Even though only one of her five groomers works on cats, that specialty brings in about 30 percent of the salon’s total revenue.
“My cat groomer brings in almost more revenue than two dog groomers combined,” she adds.
Jennifer has seen a similar dynamic at her own cat-exclusive salon.
“We charge more,” begins Jennifer. “My pricing is on the high end for our area, but we’re also cat-exclusive—there are no dogs in our facility, so that makes a difference.”
– Kasee Artis
“There just aren’t enough cat groomers out there,” Kristina states. “If someone’s thinking about it, there’s real demand.”
For groomers new to cats, it helps to know what standard you’re working toward.
Kasee offers a clear benchmark for a properly groomed domestic longhair: “The coat should lie flat with no separation or clumping, and a fine-tooth comb should glide through it without catching,” she describes. “Feel-wise, it should be like rubbing your skin right after a shower. It doesn’t get caught on anything; you don’t feel any kind of oily residue.”
Kristina has a broader philosophy: “For dogs, grooming is a necessity, because dogs don’t truly clean themselves,” she explains. “For cats, it’s more accurately described as ‘assistance for an animal that already grooms itself;’ meaning the groomer’s real job is managing stress and preventing problems like matting, greasy coats, and overgrown nails before they become painful.”
All three groomers have one piece of advice for those wanting to get into the cat space: Get real, feline-specific education before you get in the tub.
“You can’t groom a cat like you groom a dog,” Kasee stresses. “Restraint techniques, loops, and forceful handling that work on dogs are inappropriate and often dangerous for cats.”
“Cats have looser skin that isn’t attached to their muscles the way a dog’s is, which lets them twist and react far faster than most groomers expect,” adds Kristina.
“A video or an online course can tell you what to do, but if it’s in person, they can show you how to redirect and how to read certain body language,” Kasee shares.
“Don’t give up on it just because you got bit or scratched,” adds Kristina. “There’s such a need for caring cat groomers.”
All three groomers agree that a phased approach works well, meaning you don’t need to go cat-exclusive to benefit. Jennifer suggests designating a cat-only day or morning at an existing dog salon to remove the noise and stress of barking dogs from the equation. And Kristina’s salon is taking that further by building a dedicated cat room with its own tub to separate cats from the main grooming floor.
The data backs up what these groomers are seeing on the ground: Cat ownership is growing while much of the rest of the pet industry holds steady. A new generation of owners is investing more in their cats’ care than ever before, yet the number of groomers qualified to serve that market hasn’t caught up.
For dog groomers willing to invest in real cat-specific education, the opportunity isn’t just to diversify a client list—it’s to step into one of the most underserved, and increasingly profitable, corners of the grooming industry.