Beware of Bothell’s Alex the Cat Groomer

Alex Perry, who’s been running his own cat grooming business called “Alex the Cat Groomer” in Bothell for 11 years, promotes racism and sexism through his business, and has a history of being rough with cats— and sexualizing them. In a now-deleted Instagram post dated January 6, Perry uploaded a picture of a name tag with cell phone information on it, and said people need to keep these tags on the carrier at all times.

“We have a running joke that my clients often go into the witness protection program and the first thing they do is remove the tag from their carrier and assume a new name. It happens all the time,” Perry wrote. “I’ve figured out why it happens with Asians, lesbians, and some men who vote Democrat but I can’t for the life of me figure out why the rest of you forget your name.”

This has seemingly been a consistent issue for Perry, as he created a similar post on his cat-grooming Facebook page on April 24, 2024, but he did not take jabs at Asians, Lesbians, or men who vote Democrat. In a formerly public Facebook post on his personal account, Perry shared a video titled “Why Men Worked & Women Stayed Home Before Feminism.”

“The only thing dumber than a Democrat is a feminist,” he wrote.

In another formerly public post, this time on his personal Facebook account, Perry talked about interactions with the police, and how people should present themselves. He said cops are simply doing a challenging job and that people should “just follow their instructions,” and “be polite.” He mentioned three instances where he should have gone to jail, but claimed police aren’t going out of their way to make people’s lives harder.

“Remember, you don’t have to be a white male to have white male privilege. You just have to conduct yourself like one,” Perry said.

In September, Perry posted a photo of a cat wearing USA flag sunglasses with text beneath that said, “You can’t silence us all. I am Charlie,” referencing the murder of bigot and extremist, Charlie Kirk.

Perry’s grooming services include baths; brush-outs; spa facials; skin rejuvenation; sanitary clips; fecal removal; fur shaping; and more. He started out as a groomer in Seattle in 2011, and purchased the cat grooming portion of the At Home Vet business. While he has a 4.8 star Google review rating, he has provided lots of degrading feedback on negative reviews concerning the well-being of his cat clients, with one reviewer claiming Perry almost shaved two nipples off.

Two years ago, a first-time client had an American short-hair and wanted a “teddy bear” cut, and the review said it was uneven and not worth the money, but thanked Perry for the grooming service. Perry responded and said he tried his best, but that teddy bear cuts are challenging on short-haired cats and that he’s groomed “tens of thousands” of short-haired cats.

“You may want to think about firing that interpreter girl you brought with her,” he added.

In another review from two years ago, a person who had never taken their pet to Alex the Cat Groomer called to learn more about the services, but said Perry was very rude and hung-up on them.

“I would rather have my testicles sprinkled in catnip and slowly lowered into a box of feral kittens than listen to you bellow on for another second about how much “your cat” hates men! Fuxk me that was brutal,” Perry responded.

While there are several reports of cats being handled roughly and coming back with marks, a review from ten months ago involving a cat with spinal arthritis stated their cat required gentle handling.

“As soon as we got to the appointment Alex was very rough with him. He started clipping his nails and flipping him about,” the client wrote.

This cat had been getting a “lion” cut for over ten years, and this client was disappointed with the choppiness of the cut. They said it took nearly six months for the fur to grow back because it was shaved almost completely, and that the cat had razor burn on his stomach. Another incident included a six-month-old kitten who was handled roughly and screaming during the process.