Before and After Pictures
I’m at the end of writing a book and really pushing to get it done, so I thought I’d share something short and funny today. Going off the title of this post, you all were probably expecting before and after photos of ME. When I started my diet this past summer, I did promise to post before and after photos, and while I’m holding strong at having lost 45 pounds, I still have about 25 more to go. Unfortunately, the month of December was my downfall — strict dieting went by the wayside, and I haven’t gotten back on track again . . . yet. That’s going to happen after this book is done. BUT, I have managed to keep the weight OFF, so that’s a plus!
So, what is today’s before and after pictures all about? Well, I recently took our 10 year old cat 
Portia for a fur-cut. She’s a Persian mix, and because she has long hair it gets matted very easily. And she sheds like crazy, which is a pain because she’s strictly an indoor cat. Because she does shed so badly, my kids try not to pet her because it results in HUGE furballs that end up everywhere, LOL! Oh, and to make matters worse, Portia is very “chunky” (aka FAT), and being so big it’s hard for her to clean all that fur . . . and other private areas that have a whole lot of fur. So, hence the fur-cut.
As you’ll see by the “before” photo, she’s a very grumpy cat. She always seems to be frowning, and I’m certain I know why . . . the OTHER cat and dog (Zoey and Sandie) that rule our house. You see, Portia was an only cat until about 5 years ago when we found both Sandie and Zoey as strays (a kitten and a puppy) and took them in and gave them a home. With two new animals in the house, Portia was NOT happy about that. Oh, Zoey and Sandie have really tried to make nice with Portia, but she’s not having any of it. She still snarls and growls at Sandie 
when she happens to walk by Portia, and Zoey will get a few paw-swats if she gets too close. As a result, Sandie and Zoey have bonded over the years and are playful and very close. Oh, and when I’m not looking, they like to TERRORIZE Portia (teasing her, chasing her, etc.).
Anyway, I digress. I took Portia in to the groomers and asked for a “lion cut”, and he shaved her down everywhere, except her tail and head. Portia was completely pissed off about that . . . until she realized that once she came back home (and we all had a good laugh about her new look!) everyone was petting her, and loving on her, and she LIKED it. Without all that 
fur her pelt now feels like velvet, and we all love how she feels — so petting her is a joy.
Sandie, and especially Zoey, were surprised at Portia’s new look (they had to sniff her and make sure it was really HER), and then afterward I would have sworn that THEY were laughing at her. Luckily for Zoey she’s a short hair, or she’d be getting shaved down, too.
So, does anyone else out there have a long haired cat that they shave, too? Or am I the only one who humiliates my cat this way?
First of all, super congrats on the weight loss Janelle. I would have never guessed you would need to lose that much weight - I thought you looked great in Atlanta. But anyways, WTG! And I’m excited about the book you’re writing.
Comment by Stacy ~ — February 15, 2007 @ 7:20 am
Congrats o the weight loss and good luck on the continuing of it.
I had never thought of shaving them as an option. Hmmmm.:thumbsup2: It looks cute. I might have tried it on my last cat.
Comment by Kris — February 15, 2007 @ 8:56 am
I always hear about Portia (she lays on Janelle’s work - is this the cat that peed on your suitcase at midnight before you cam to new york) love the pictures. gave me and the girls a good laugh. but we are not cat people unless we are looking at pictures. Great story janelle!
gave us a hoot!!
Comment by Carly — February 15, 2007 @ 8:59 am
I have a yellow lab :doggie: and she sheds like crazy!! I think everyone here avoids petting her too much for the same reason your kids don’t. I have to vacuum at least twice a day.
The next dog is going to be furless. LMAO!
Comment by Kelly F. — February 15, 2007 @ 9:33 am
Janelle, you remember Kitty, right? She was regularly shaved and HATED it. She didn’t shed very badly, but we did it because of the matting. It was awful! Persians are so high maintenance…and they know it, too.
Kelly, my brother has a Yellow Lab (Buddy, whom I mentioned yesterday and that I love, love) and he is shaved regularly. He’s an inside/outside dog and he not only gets mats, but he sheds and it’s hot in Florida. Shaving really helps. I used to shave my chow. He hated it, too, but panted a lot less.
Comment by Julie Leto — February 15, 2007 @ 9:39 am
That is so funny…my friend Fran had a persian cat(ellie…also known as smelly) that she did the same thing to every summer so ellie wouldn’t get too hot(although she was an indoor cat in the a/c, so I don’t know how hot she really got). Ellie was so tiny when shaved that she looked like the hairless cat from that episode of Friends. Thanks for the laugh and way to go on the weight loss!!!
Comment by Liza — February 15, 2007 @ 9:43 am
We’ve never shaved a cat, but we did have one who had a hard time cleaning parts of her anatomy because of a big belly. It was hysterical to see her try to prop herself up against a wall and try to groom herself. We often had to help her out…
But fat cats have attitude and are much more interesting.
Comment by Kimberly — February 15, 2007 @ 9:45 am
OH, Buddy was shaved on both sides for his surgery, and now he’s growing back, but he’s furry everywhere else, so he looks like the vet said he would - like a patchwork quilt. That said, I’d never shave my dog willingly. I’d rather cut him down short but I can see why you’d have to do it on long haired animals.
Comment by Carly — February 15, 2007 @ 9:51 am
Janelle: Congrats on your weight loss. Keep it up. I think he looks cute. I bet he loves the attention, too!
Comment by katie — February 15, 2007 @ 10:36 am
Kelly F- Labs tend to have a thyroid problem that leads to the shedding. you could have built a 2nd dog with all the fur mine left behind. I had him checked, they put him on pills and now he doesn’t shed (and has lost weight too). you might want to have it checked out.:doggie:
Comment by ev — February 15, 2007 @ 11:04 am
Janelle- keep up the good work.
I am still at 15 and holding, but with all the shoveling I am doing the last couple of days, maybe I will lose more??
We have a mini wire hair daschaund mix who needs to be cut desperately, but not until spring. She saw her first snow yesterday (she’s a rescue from S. carolina). She was so upset she didn’t go potty until last night when I got home from the hospital and was out shoveling. The snow storm got us all good. I spent the day in the ER with hubby- who will do anything not to have to go shopping for me.
So far he is fine- the 102+ fever he had broke, but they still don’t know what caused it and are running tests. I am on my way to go see him soon.
Stay warm everyone!!
Comment by ev — February 15, 2007 @ 11:09 am
Wow, super
weight loss Janelle. I am down 20lbs. and it has been slow going. I still have a way to go but your post was inspiring.
We have a hairless cat. They love to be close unlike other cats with fur. He, Zeus, needs our body heat to stay warm. The other 2 (Zoey and Sandi) are just jealous, Portia was there first.
As for your pets: Poor Portia,
Comment by jeannie — February 15, 2007 @ 11:10 am
Cassie has very fine hair, too and we have to have her shaved every so often. Unfortunately this last time her ears had gotten horribly matted so they were down as close to the skin as they’ve ever been–she was not happy!
Great pics Janelle! And congrats on the weight loss–you looked absolutely amazing in Nashville!
Comment by Leslie — February 15, 2007 @ 11:30 am
Okay, I’m not feeling so bad or guilty knowing that others shave their animals, too. It’s so funny how INDIGNANT they get about it, too!
Kim - Portia has a big belly and has a hard time cleaning herself, too. I laughed about the “proping herself up against a wall”, because Portia does that all the time, too, LOL.
Carly — actualy it was Zoey who peed on my suitcase! She HATES when we leave (Zoey is very much a people cat — loves to be around us) and anytime she sees that the suitcases are being pulled out, she gets very upset. Which is why she peed on my suitcase that time — it’s as if she KNEW exactly what she was doing, and wanted to get back at me for leaving! This from a cat who never pees anywhere but in her liter box. So yes, now we are much more careful about bringing out the suitcases and shutting the cat out of the room while we pack!
Ev - I hope your hubby is okay!
Comment by Janelle — February 15, 2007 @ 11:45 am
I would LOVE to shave my cat Sunshine. She’s technically a short hair but it’s longer than my other cats fur and she sheds a LOT. Plus, she’s fat and can’t clean herself very well either. Too bad my husband would have a fit!
Comment by Jen — February 15, 2007 @ 12:56 pm
Congrats on the weight loss and your great attitude!
We don’t shave our cat but we “roll” her. We have a lint roller specifically for her and she loves it! And it certainly cuts down on the fur mess.
My stepmom used to have a sheep dog - talk about a lot of fur!! We’d shave him in the summer to help keep him cool and it was so funny because he would just glare at us when we were finished. She swore that he looked at us all the time anyway, we just couldn’t see his eyes because of the fur hanging over them, but I was never too sure of that.
We also used to shave our Golden in the summer time and he was totally humiliated. You could tell by the way he’d slink around the yard he was terrified of being seen. He was too cute!
Comment by Jodie — February 15, 2007 @ 1:05 pm
My last cat was a persian mix. I never had the hair cut, but it sounds like a good idea!
Congrats on the weight loss, BTW! I’ve created a Shrink-O-Meter on my blog to track the progress of the 57 lbs I need to lose. The meter got stuck at 6 lbs, but like you, I’m on the verge of finishing my book (15 pages to go!!!!) and the Shrink-O-Meter is going to be my next priority.
Good luck! 45 lbs has GOT to feel good!!
Comment by Lori Borrill — February 15, 2007 @ 1:16 pm
Darn it, Lori! I thought you were going to say that you had a “Shrink-O-Meter”, and that it magically shrank the pounds right of your body! Yeah, don’t we all wish!
Comment by Janelle — February 15, 2007 @ 1:27 pm
Jodi — I think for cats and dogs their fur is their clothing. And when you shave or even cut it, they do feel humiliated, like they’re absolutely naked! But, once they get used to it (as Portia has), they usually end up loving it. It’s cooler, no matting of fur, and they feel so soft and everyone likes to pet them more!
Comment by Janelle — February 15, 2007 @ 1:29 pm
Janelle, congratulations on loosing 45 lbs. A great reason to celebrate!
We had a dog that was a poodle mix, Millie, that had hair that got very matted so in the warmer months we would get her shaved. When she came home from that she had ribbons & she was so cute she would prance & show off! She would get matted, have burrs in her fur & would be a mess. We lived in the country & she was often outside. She was such a sweetie. Cute pictures of your animals. 
I didn’t know people had their cats shaved. Learn something new everyday!!
Ev, I hope your husband is okay soon.
Comment by Donna M — February 15, 2007 @ 2:30 pm
Hi guys!! Thanks for the well-whishes. I called the hosp to let them know that he has been eating Peter Pan Peanut Butter- from the recalled lot. They are going to run some new tests. Keep your fingers crossed, cause everything else has come back fine.
Comment by ev — February 15, 2007 @ 3:27 pm
Ev–I read about that peanut butter recall as I was sitting here this morning eating an english mufffin with peanut butter!
Went up and checked…yep. Same lot.
Comment by Leslie — February 15, 2007 @ 3:29 pm
I hope Leslie and Ev’s hubby (and everyone else who ate Peter Pan peanut butter) is okay. That sounds nasty. I also hope everyone is digging out of the snow (we had that situation last month……not as bad, but not fun!).
Comment by katie — February 15, 2007 @ 3:44 pm
On the peanut butter, as long as the manufacture isn’t ConAgra, Inc. for peter pan or great value, the msn story said the peanut butter should be ok(but who would take that chance). The plant location was in Georgia for all the affected peanut butter according to the msn story.
Comment by Liza — February 15, 2007 @ 4:17 pm
Sheesh, is there anything we can eat any more without having to worry about some kind of salmonella poisening? Peanut butter of all things! Who would have thunk it! :|
Comment by Janelle — February 15, 2007 @ 4:26 pm
Uhhhh, I don’t watch the news so I’m totally out of the loop on the Peanut Butter thing but I think I’ll mosey on over to MSN and get the scoop and then go check the numbers on my jar of Peter Pan!
Hope everyone else is OK!!!
Comment by Jodie — February 15, 2007 @ 5:25 pm
Thanks for the 411!! I just checked our jar and its got the dreaded number also. Fortunately, I don’t think any people have eaten it. I think hubby has just scooped out of it for the mouse traps!
Comment by Jodie — February 15, 2007 @ 5:33 pm
Congratulations on the weight loss.
I once had a Pomapoo named Sam and I once took him for the poodle cut thing. He just had eyebrows and a tuft on the end on his tail. HE was so funny to look at.
Poor Sam hid under the bed after that. I never had him clipped like that again.
Now I have an English Springer Spaniel. I brush her coat at least every two days and bathe her on the weekends. I don’t have that much problem with her shedding. Bridgette is an indoor pooch so I electric broom the kitchen and the hard parts of the flooring everyday. I vaccum the house twice a week on Mondays and Friday.:doggie:
Comment by Gigi — February 15, 2007 @ 6:12 pm
Congrats, Janelle.
One of my cats is half Maine Coon but luckily he grooms himself but I do have to pick up clumps that he leaves all over our house. My oldest cat (16) has the same look as yours. I’ve taken in 4 other ferals and she gets more unhappy with each one (and I’m temporarily taking care of my daughter’s cat too). And she just peed on one of our stuitcases lol.
Now I’m going to go check my peanut butter.
Comment by catslady — February 15, 2007 @ 6:28 pm
My hubby and I have both been affected by that peter pan/best value
peanut butter.
I called and had him toss it when I heard. We have the stomache flu
going around our state and had thought that was what made us so sick.
Sure not a pleasant experience. Bad Peter, bad, bad Peter. I hope
Tinkerbell withholds her fairy dust as punishment.
So sorry EV.
Comment by jeannie — February 15, 2007 @ 6:54 pm
Comment by katie — February 15, 2007 @ 7:19 pm
COngrats Janelle
on the weight loss 
poor
Ev I hope hubby feels better
I only buy Skippy
We got mainly freezing rain here in CT
Comment by Cherylann — February 15, 2007 @ 8:13 pm
Hugs to everyone affected by the PB. I let my husband know. He owns a supermarket in N Y!
Comment by Carly — February 15, 2007 @ 8:22 pm
I’m a Jif girl. Hugs, everyone!
Comment by Julie Leto — February 15, 2007 @ 8:27 pm
I had a manx that I used to get shaved every summer. He was an inside cat but he still got very hot especially in the summer. I had a wood chair by my bed and that’s what he would sleep on at night. But he would sleep in the bed after I started having him shaved. My other cats would hiss and growl at him for days because they didn’t recognize him.
Comment by claudia — February 15, 2007 @ 10:57 pm
Julie: We lead yet another parallel life (I adore Jif). LOL!
Comment by katie — February 16, 2007 @ 12:40 am
Janelle - way to go with the weight loss. I had lost 20 lbs, but got stressed out in June about family stuff and work - gained it back in record time. So, you are a better woman for maintaining. However, I am trying to get back on track and have lost 8 of what came back. Now, if I could just resist the temptations coming into the office, at lunch…
We have a Bichon named Venus that doesn’t shed, but does have hair fine enough to mat if not groomed often enough. So, she tends to be shaved - a lot.
Well I checked all three of my jars of Peter Pan - all three have the lot number! My kids ate 1/2 a jar of one. We haven’t had ill effects. However, I will be taking care of those jars ASAP.
Have a good one PM’s.
Comment by Lynn Matherly — February 16, 2007 @ 2:25 am
Janelle - way to go with the weight loss. I had lost 20 lbs, but got stressed out in June about family stuff and work - gained it back in record time. So, you are a better woman for maintaining. However, I am trying to get back on track and have lost 8 of what came back. Now, if I could just resist the temptations coming into the office, at lunch…
We have a Bichon named Venus that doesn’t shed, but does have hair fine enough to mat if not groomed often enough. So, she tends to be shaved - a lot.
Well I checked all three of my jars of Peter Pan - all three have the lot number! My kids ate 1/2 a jar of one. We haven’t had ill effects. However, I will be taking care of those jars ASAP.
Comment by Lynn Matherly — February 16, 2007 @ 2:25 am
I can’t get over the look on Portia’s face!
Comment by Nienke — February 16, 2007 @ 12:12 pm