Introduction

It is the goal of every AFHS Member to treat all cats entrusted into their care

with kindness, patience, respect and compassion to ensure their safety, health,

and well being. As professionals who work with live animals, it is our duty to

educate, be courteous, and offer patience and compassion. We must do our

very best to interpret wants and needs without sacrificing quality, care, or the

overall well-being of the cat.

 

Members of the AFHS should exhibit professional behavior and maintain their

businesses with honesty and integrity toward their clients at all times while

encouraging the health and safety of the cats in their care. This includes

Compassion through Education, Prioritizing Health and Safety over Vanity, and

Transparency in Communication. Honesty without compassion is cruelty, and

clients, colleagues, and the general public fail to retain feedback if delivery is

hostile.

 

These standards of care, safety, and sanitation were sourced, discussed, and

unanimously agreed upon by professional Cat Groomers and Boarders, certified

grooming educators, with decades of hands-on experience. They are a uniform

set of standards to which all responsible individuals who work with cats should

adhere, regardless of where or how they were trained. These standards were

developed by members of the Professional Pet Groomers and Stylists Alliance,

a coalition of industry organizations whose members have combined to

educate, train, and certify tens of thousands of professional Pet Groomers and

Stylists across the country, Professional Holistic Pet Practitioners, the Fear

Free Foundation, as well as Certified Feline Master Groomers through the

National Cat Grooming Institute.

 

To view the full AFHS Professional Standards: Click Here.