Cat grooming
Cat baths in Gloucester: the Full Bath at $95, minimal trims at $45
Cats bathe themselves, right up until they cannot. A greasy senior, a long-haired cat with a spring shed stuck in its undercoat, a cat who came home from a Gloucester garage smelling of something it rolled in, a household with an allergy sufferer: each of these is a reason to book a bath. This page covers what the Full Bath includes, when a trim is the better buy, and how the studio keeps it calm.
When to bathe
A bath earns its place when the cat has stopped keeping up, or the house has
A healthy adult cat with a short coat may never need a bath in its life. The cats who do need one fall into a few groups. Long-haired cats whose undercoat has gone greasy and clumped, especially during the spring and fall sheds that hit New England coats hard. Seniors and overweight cats who can no longer reach their back half. Cats who have got into something: motor oil in a garage, sap from a Cape Ann pine, a spill in the kitchen. And cats in homes where someone's allergies flare, since a bath and brush-out take a lot of loose hair and dander out of circulation.
Kittens and nervous cats are a special case. A first bath done calmly makes every later groom easier, and a bath done badly makes a cat who fights water for life. We would rather start a young or anxious cat with a brush-out and a nail trim, let it learn the room, and bathe it on a later visit. Say it is a first bath when you book and the groomer plans around that.
- Long-haired cats with a greasy or clumped undercoat during the spring or fall shed
- Seniors and heavier cats who cannot groom their hindquarters
- A cat who has rolled in or walked through something it should not lick off
- Households where a family member's allergies are flaring
- Show or breed cats kept on a regular bathing schedule
The bath
Brush first, warm water, cat-safe shampoo, then a slow and careful dry
A cat bath goes wrong when the coat is wet before it is combed and when the dryer is louder than the cat can stand. Ours goes in a fixed order. The groomer assesses the coat and the cat's temperament, then combs the loose undercoat and any small tangles out while the coat is dry; wet hair knots, so the brush-out comes first. The wash uses warm water and cat-safe products, working from the neck back and keeping the face for a damp cloth.
Drying is the slow part. Long coats are towel-dried and then finished with careful, low-noise drying and a comb, so the cat goes home fully dry rather than damp and chilled, which matters from November to April when Cape Ann houses run their heat and the air outside is raw. Throughout, our cat behavior specialists keep restraint to a minimum and stop for a break whenever the cat asks. A cat who cannot be handled safely in the water is dried, returned to you and referred to your vet.
- 01
Coat and temperament assessed, then a full dry comb-out of loose hair and small tangles
- 02
Warm-water wash with cat-safe shampoo, the face wiped with a damp cloth
- 03
A thorough rinse so nothing is left in the coat to itch
- 04
Towel dry, then careful low-noise drying and a comb-through until the coat is fully dry
- 05
Nail clip once the cat has settled
- 06
A short report at pick-up: how the cat coped, what the coat looked like, when to come back
Bath or trim
$95 for the Full Bath, $45 for Minimal Trims without water, $120 for both with a shave
Choose by what the cat actually needs. The Full Bath at $95 is for a coat that is dirty, greasy or loaded with loose undercoat; it includes the wash, brush-out, drying and nails. Minimal Trims at $45 is for a cat that needs tidying rather than washing: a sanitary trim, a few mats clipped out, a partial shave of the belly, with no bath. The Full Service groom at $120 is for the cat that needs the lot, a full shave, the bath, trims and nails in one visit.
Book online through MoeGo or in the Dogtown app; there is no evaluation for grooming. If you are torn between a bath and a trim, book the bath and describe the coat to the front desk. The groomer confirms the right service after the assessment and will not talk a clean cat into a shave. Dog owners can book the household's dog groom for the same visit; dog baths start at $55 by size across the hall.
| Service | Price | Bath | Shaving | Nails |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Full Bath | $95 | Yes | No | Yes |
| Minimal Trims | $45 | No | Partial | Ask when booking |
| Full Service | $120 | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Nail clipping | $20 | No | No | Yes |
Why Dogtown
Water, noise and strangers are the three things cats hate, so we control all three
A cat bath in a dog salon means a wet, cornered cat listening to barking through the wall. Our cat studio is a separate room at 210 Eastern Ave in Gloucester, inside the same 10,000 square foot building as the daycare but out of earshot of it. And the hands belong to cat behavior specialists who read ears, tail and skin and stop before stress builds. Every cat is assessed before the service starts, so a cat who is not up to a bath that day is not put through one.
We are also honest about limits. Skin problems, wounds, fleas or lumps found under a wet coat get reported to you and referred to your vet, not shampooed over. Gloucester publishes a list of local and emergency veterinary offices, and Massachusetts Veterinary Referral Hospital in Woburn is open 24 hours a day for anything urgent.
- A separate cat room, no dog dryers or barking within earshot
- Warm water, cat-safe products and a slow dry so the cat leaves fully dry
- Cat behavior specialists who pause at the first sign of stress
- Anything found under the coat reported to you and referred to your vet
Getting here
Eastern Ave in Gloucester, Monday to Saturday, and a dry cat for the drive home
Dogtown is at 210 Eastern Ave in Gloucester, along Route 127 between East Gloucester and Rockport, open Monday to Friday 6:30 AM to 6:30 PM and Saturday 8 AM to 6 PM. Sunday is closed except for overnight-stay dog pick-up and drop-off, so cat baths run Monday to Saturday. Give yourself a realistic window: a bath and a full dry take longer than a nail trim, and we do not rush the drying to meet a pick-up time.
In the cold months, warm the car before you load a freshly bathed cat, and keep the carrier off a drafty floor at home for the rest of the day. In summer, when Cape Ann traffic stacks up at the Route 128 rotaries, allow extra time. And if a nor'easter is bearing down, call and move the appointment; a bath is never urgent enough for that drive.
At Dogtown
Grooming for cats and dogs
The cat studio for baths and trims, and the dog grooming studio next door for baths, cuts and add-ons.
Asked and answered
Questions people ask about this
Short, complete answers you can act on today. More in the full FAQ.
How often should a cat be bathed?
Do you use a hair dryer on cats?
What is the difference between Minimal Trims and the Full Bath?
My cat hates water. Is a bath even possible?
More questions? Read the full FAQ
Sources
Rules and dates change. We re-check every beach, licensing and ordinance page each spring and fall; the source above is the current word.
Keep reading
Next step
Book a calm cat bath.
The Full Bath at $95 with brush-out, drying and nails, or Minimal Trims at $45 when water is not needed. No evaluation: choose a Monday to Saturday slot online or in the Dogtown app.
- 01Free evaluationWeekdays 6:30 – 9:30 AM
- 02Book a dayOnline, in the app or by phone
- 03Play, rest, repeatReport card at pick-up
