from the Bathing Beauties Dept.

Benny, one of my two cats, has been looking rather shabby of late. It almost looks as though he's not been washing himself. I'm not sure why. It might be related to the Chaplin-like walk he's developed in the past month or so.

I want to take him to a new vet next week, so it was decided that he needed a bath. The poor dear didn't suspect a think, right up to the point where I deposited him in the kitchen sink, and started the shower*

Thankfully of course, cats have a built-in parallysis feature, activated by grabbing the scruff of their neck. This made the whole process a lot more easier than I'd anticipated.

Just imagine if humans had such a feature. There would be surge in muggings, with fellons sneaking up behind their victims, and grabbing them by the scruff.

So, anyway, he got a shower, then a sudsing with dog shampoo - which bizzarely, had a very pleasant coconut smell. Then another shower to wash it all off him. he looked quite a sight afterwards:

Click to englarge

Bathtime


Towel time


Plotting revenge

He was also the quietest I've known him to be in years.

The Revenge
About an hour or two after this trauma, Benny - who's the sweetest natured cat you could hope to meet - had his revenge.

I'd just sat down to watch a movie, when I got a strange warm sensation behind me. I realised that Benny, who was still wet from his bath, was sat behind me. After a while, however, I sensed that the warm wet sensation was rather more wet than a semi-dry cat's fur should give.

It was at this point that I realised, Benny was taking a piss on me, and the couch.

Both my cats are fully house-trained, and go to the toilet outside. So this, was very much a protest pee, rather than an accident. Benny was then ejected from the house, and made to stay outisde for a few hours, whilst I; a) calmed down, and, b) got the carpet cleaner going to clean the couch.

The Epilogue
Later, Benny was allowed to come back in, and had fully dried himself. He'd also got his confidence back, enough to resume his usual noisy, nagging approach to anyone going near the refrigerator, the cat brush, or indeed, near him.

*American kitchen sinks often have a retractable sprayer, controlled by the taps. It's a brilliant idea that I wish they'd adopt in the UK.