Cat Groomer Career Guide: Feline Grooming as a Specialty

A cat groomer does the core grooming work — bath, dry, brush-out, coat work, nail trims, sanitary trims and shave-down styles such as the lion cut — on cats instead of, or alongside, dogs.

Groomers who go feline-only build their book around cats.

Groomers in mixed salons split the schedule between dogs and the cats on the books.

The work shows up under several titles: cat groomer, feline groomer, or cat duties folded into a professional groomer role.

PetSmart's groomer posting is literally titled "Pet Stylist (Dog and/or Cat Groomer)", and it asks for prior grooming experience, or six months as a Stylist in Training with completion of PetSmart's Salon Academy training and safety certification program, or passing the salon's technical evaluation.

The same posting's duties reach beyond the grooming table: the full bath, brush and grooming menu plus nail trims, teeth brushing and sanitary services, and front-desk work — greeting pet parents, reservations, reminder calls, client records, check-in and check-out, rebooking, and selling merchandise and services.

At PetSmart, the posting folds the front desk into the groomer's duties: the stylist runs the appointment as well as the groom.

PetSmart treats the cat side as its own training step rather than an automatic transfer from dogs: stylists can be trained in cat grooming in-house through a 3-day Academy with technical experts, and stylists are provided with cat-specific grooming and safety equipment.

One boundary runs through the work: groomers spot and refer.

If a cat's skin, coat or behavior shows something beyond the groom — a sore, a lump, matting that looks tied to a health problem — the groomer stops short of anything medical and tells the owner to see a veterinarian.

The groom finishes only what the cat can safely tolerate.

Groomers never diagnose or treat.

Cat grooming shows up in several settings, and the employer shapes the job.

BLS lists the settings groomers work in as a grooming salon, kennel, veterinary clinic, pet supply store or mobile grooming service; where the cats fit into each is the employer's policy.

• Feline-only salons. Shops that book only cats: no dogs on the schedule, a service menu built around feline coat work, and handling paced for the species.
• Full-service salons. Salons whose book is dogs and cats together, with cats booked alongside the dog schedule.
• Mobile grooming. BLS describes the mobile grooming service as a self-contained business that travels to clients' homes — the appointment happens in the van at the door, which can suit cats that find a salon environment stressful.
• Store-salon chains. Salons inside pet supply stores, where grooming is one service line among many. At PetSmart, stylists can be trained in cat grooming in-house and are provided with cat-specific equipment; other chains set their own policies.

The chain-employer signal is the clearest one in the research.

PetSmart says bathers hired on or after March 2, 2026 are required to provide standalone grooming services for cats, while associates hired earlier may opt in to cat training.

At PetSmart, cat grooming is being written into the entry role itself for new hires.

PetSmart backs that with equipment: stylists are provided with cat-specific grooming and safety equipment alongside the in-house training.

Each employer sets its own cat policy, so the employer's answer at interview is the one that counts.

Our research did not find primary data on how many feline-only salons operate in the United States, so size the model locally rather than assuming a national market.

Open roles are listed on the cat groomer jobs page.

Groomers reach cat work by three routes: through a big-box academy, through a private school or an apprenticeship, or as experienced dog groomers who add cats through supervised practice and employer training.

The base craft is shared grooming work; what changes on the cat side is the handling and the pace.

The big-box route is the one with published steps: PetSmart's salon careers page lays out a path from bather to professional stylist.

Its grooming postings require applicants to be over 18, except in Montana or where state or local law requires otherwise — the company's own policy, not a general legal minimum for grooming.

Entry is the bather role: at PetSmart it is paid hourly, never below local minimum wage, and it requires completing PetSmart's Splash training and safety certification program.

From there the path runs through paid training and supervised grooms before full stylist work.

Outside the big-box world, private grooming schools and apprenticeships teach the same base craft, and programs set their own length, cost and curriculum — compare schools directly rather than assuming a standard program shape.

If you already groom dogs, the cat side is added through employer training and supervised cat work — ask a prospective salon how it structures that step before you take on a full cat book.

Whichever route you take, expect the cat-specific step to be real training, not a formality — the handling differences and the cat-specific equipment are what it is for, and the niche section below shows why the handling matters.

Certification is voluntary, not an entry requirement: BLS says certifications are not required for animal care and service workers, though they can help a worker establish credentials and enhance skills.

A cat-specific credential in the research is the Certified Feline Master Groomer (CFMG) title, issued by the National Cat Groomers Institute (NCGI).

Its requirements are the body's own: an active NCGI membership and a minimum 85% score on each of nine exams — four written, five practical.

They change on NCGI's schedule, so treat the institute as the source of record for what the title currently takes.

Employer training is not a credential: PetSmart's in-house cat Academy is an employment program for its own stylists, not a portable credential you carry to the next salon.

If you want a credential that travels, that is what the voluntary bodies sell — and it is a choice, not a license.

BLS publishes no separate cat-groomer wage.

Its figures cover the broader occupation grooming sits inside — animal caretakers (includes groomers) — where the May 2025 OEWS release lists a national median of $17.00 an hour ($35,360 a year) across 266,910 wage-and-salary jobs.

The spread around that median is wide.

The lowest-paid 10 percent of the occupation earned under $27,250 a year and the top 10 percent over $50,060, with the middle half between $29,820 and $40,050.

OEWS counts payroll employees only, so this is a picture of employed groomers, bathers and kennel and daycare staff — not of the self-employed.

Employer pay is structured.

PetSmart says its stylists earn a guaranteed hourly wage and up to 55% commission, and its postings describe pay as the greater of the base rate or groom pay — a percentage of grooming sales — never less than local minimum wage.

"Up to 55%" is PetSmart's stated ceiling for its own role, not a market rate.

No published figure separates cat work from dog work: our research holds no cat-grooming-specific pay data.

A feline-only practice lives on the same levers as other salons — pricing, volume, rebooking and the pay plan it sits on.

Cat grooming is a niche because of the working style it demands, not because any figure prices it above dog work.

Cat handling is its own discipline: the AAFP/ISFM cat-friendly guidelines cite a study finding that full-body restraint, restraint clips ("clipnosis") and scruffing all increased objective signs of fear and aversion in cats compared with minimal handling.

A groomer who works at the cat's pace serves owners that a dog-led schedule may not prioritize.

The clearest demand signal in the research is employer behavior.

PetSmart is writing standalone cat services into its entry role for new hires and runs a dedicated in-house cat Academy with cat-specific grooming and safety equipment.

A national employer is treating cats as a service line to staff deliberately, not an occasional favor to a client.

The only sourced demand number is occupational, not cat-specific.

BLS's Employment Projections expect animal caretaker employment — the occupation that includes groomers — to grow 12.1% from 365,300 jobs in 2025 to 409,400 by 2035, with openings averaging 62,800 a year.

That projections count includes the self-employed, which is why it runs above the 266,910 payroll jobs OEWS counts.

The same projections count 24.8% of all animal caretakers as self-employed in 2025, a reminder that independent practice is a real part of this field.

What the research does not settle is size: our research did not find primary data on how many feline-only salons exist or how pay at a cat-only practice compares with a mixed one.

If the niche interests you, test it where you are — the cat appointments your current salon doesn't book, or the mobile clients with cats — before committing to a feline-only business plan.

The niche suits groomers who like the handling puzzle cats present and want to build a book around one species.

It asks patience first and styling second, and it rewards groomers who can keep a cat safe, calm and mat-free without pushing past what the animal tolerates.

Career information, not legal, tax, insurance or veterinary advice. Certification questions go to the bodies named — NCGI for its credential, an employer for its own programs; business and facility questions go to your state agriculture department and your city or county.