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With a pregnant belly and a glowing smile, Betsey Qualley has found her niche as a cat groomer. On a site near Ingersoll Avenue on 28th Street, Qualley opened Smitten Kitten, a cat grooming business that took her away from her stressful career as a manager of homeowner associations, and into a field she loves.

“I was kind of at the point where I really didn’t like my job and I thought, ‘What can I do?'” Qualley said. “I just wanted to wake up in the morning and be happy to go to work.

“I wanted to start my own business and (I thought) how can I improve on something I already know how to do?”

That something was cat grooming.

Growing up with an aunt who had a Persian cat, Qualley was intrigued by the pet, and was even more fascinated when her aunt joined the Air Force and left the animal in 5-year-old Qualley’s care.

That responsibility carried on into college, when Qualley bought her own Persian cat named Charlie. Taking Charlie to her aunt to get it groomed, Qualley learned the tricks of the trade of cat grooming. Yet when Qualley met her husband and followed him to law school at Drake University, Qualley was left on her own to groom her pet.

“When I moved to Iowa, I had to do my own without help from her,” she said, “so then it got to the point that I could groom cats, and I liked it.”

So now Qualley has opened a store that has taken one of her passions and turned it into a service. Offering haircuts, washes and brushings, Qualley said she has established herself apart from other cat-grooming services.

“Once it’s your business, it changes everything. It’s totally different saying, ‘I got it done at Petco (Animal Supplies Inc.)’ – where it could be anyone – than to say they got it done at Smitten Kitten. Then it’s me.”

One way she has set herself apart is by doing natural grooming, without the use of sedatives, which she said a lot of veterinary clinics use.

“Most of my customers prefer not to have the cat sedated,” she said.

Also, Qualley talks up her location. Because she is close to downtown, “clients can drop their cats off before they go to work, and pick them up after.”

Finally, Qualley has set her prices down the middle; taking into consideration big-box pet stores and independent dog groomers who also provide cat-grooming services.

“I know I’m not the cheapest, but I also know I’m not the most expensive,” Qualley said.