Thursday, September 13, 2012

Nerves of Steel

With Carl home it marks the end of being out of town, and having company for awhile.  You know how I thrive on routine, and I'm hoping by the end of the weekend, we'll be back to one.
Today started out early, even for a day off.  Our cat, CC, got sap from one of our pine trees all over her yesterday.  I tried to get out as much of it as I could, and thought maybe she could do the rest, but when I watched her try to clean herself, I realized that she wasn't going to be able to reach all of it.  It didn't help that Todd and Lucas found her new aroma even more alluring!
I decided we probably should give her a bath.  I have to admit to having never bathed a cat before--But I have heard the harrowing tales of those who survived giving their cats one, and so I made sure that Carl and I were well prepared and ready.  With latex gloves, and long sleeve shirts to minimize the scratches or bites we were sure to receive from CC, we were ready.  The plan was to wet CC with my hands and apply Dawn dish soap.  The hard part would be putting her under the bathtub facet to rinse her off.  We started and CC was so calm and seemed to like my running my fingers through her coat.  When it looked like the sap was all broken down, it was time for the rinse.  I turned on the water, gave Carl his final instructions and we were ready.  Since this whole thing was my idea, and knowing that the wrath of a wet and unhappy cat was going to be upon us, I decided that Carl should have the job of holding CC--He naively willingly agreed.  So, I poured the water on her, and CC had no objection.  We finished rinsing her off under the faucet and she continued to not struggle at all.  We dried her off, set her down and she immediately went to the kitchen and demanded her breakfast.
I have to admit to being more than a little surprised by what had just happened.
But in thinking about it, I realized that I should have known that CC having lived in a multi-dog household for 11 years has given her nerves of steel, and she can coolly and calmly handle anything, even a bath!   Nevertheless, it all just seems so un-cat-like, don't you think?

45 comments:

  1. oh that is priceless
    Miss Kitty O"shea would claw my eyes out if even dared to think about a bath for her....
    Oh that happy cat rolling around so clean and fluffy..makes me so giddy

    ReplyDelete
  2. Wow. I am really impressed!

    ReplyDelete
  3. oh, good girlie! i've only bathed a cat a few times, but she was definitely more escape-driven than cc. :)

    ReplyDelete
  4. Now that is amazing!! I was all set and proceeded reading with an eye toward the "punch line"...LOVE the result! Good Kitty! (and lucky humans!)

    ReplyDelete
  5. I have said this before
    dogs give a home a heart
    cats make a house a home

    ReplyDelete
  6. Our Harley has claws but is to scared to move whilst having a bath . I use an old plastic jug to rinse her off as it makes more of a gentle flow of water for her . I am glad it all worked out and no one was scratched or bit by kitty ! Animals always amaze me ! Have a good day !

    ReplyDelete
  7. That is very uncatlike indeed! Even my old, 14 year old boy put up more of a fight than that and he got several baths in the four years I had him, because he would soil himself every time I had to bring him to the vet in his carrier and he also liked getting under the tank we had for the heating oil in the basement and would invariably get oil on himself in the process! I got a few good scratches from him from his trying to scramble out of the bath as I washed him!

    ReplyDelete
  8. Hi Kim, I'm so glad your man is back and that you'll be able to return to your regular schedule. I'm glad CC cooperated with the bath; I've never had a cat but have heard they don't like to get wet. Have a great evening my friend. Hunter got sick today and isn't eating so I'm going to just watch him and then maybe make some rice for him.
    Hugs, Noreen

    ReplyDelete
  9. Good Evening Kim,happy for you that Carl is back home,yey!! What a good kitty CC is, a bath and all, looks good. Blessings Francine.

    ReplyDelete
  10. Ha ha ha! All's well that ends well! I remember once we had to give a cat a bath and I was surprised how easy it was, too, but the second time, it didn't go nearly so well! lol

    ReplyDelete
  11. How fortunate for you that CC was so cooperative for the bath. That really was a bit un-cat like.

    Cindy

    ReplyDelete
  12. She is amazing, can she come over a give the Boo some lessons?

    The one and only time he had a bath, he howled like we were dislocating his legs. Seriously he could be heard through closed doors. It took him weeks to get over it.

    Jen @ Muddy Boot Dreams

    ReplyDelete
  13. The last picture is very cat-like. Her behavior during her bath was probably one in a thousand or ten thousand. CC is so pretty cleaned up!

    DC suddenly sprouts extra legs and claws at the hit of a bath, you need more than a shirt on, a padded jacket is more like it. Tacky is due again, I hope it is uneventful...

    Dawn cuts sap?

    ReplyDelete
  14. Way to go, CC! She's really something special. I just smiled at all of your photos!

    ReplyDelete
  15. Very un-cat like! I've got permanent scars on my elbow from washing a cat!

    Sam

    ReplyDelete
  16. Some cats actually enjoy water. I think CC may be one of them.
    In addition to watching you bathe all your dogs all those years. ;o)
    Either way, Congratulations and have a blessed weekend!

    ReplyDelete
  17. We loved this post! Yeaaaa for CC- staying so cool calm and collected!
    Cool photos!
    love
    tweedles

    ReplyDelete
  18. I would be glad to trade CC for Zkhat, who is nice enough as long as things are going her way, but just try for bath (no, I didn't and wouldn't). Or try to move her from a favorite spot, and her former owners told me if I try and transport her in a cage, she will scream ALLLL the way. Not me, no, no! We get along fine as long as no one upsets Queen Zkhat, and no one does!

    Jo

    ReplyDelete
  19. Unusual....We don't know much about bathing cats, but we've heard the horror stories, too.

    XXXOOO Daisy, Bella & roxy

    ReplyDelete
  20. Maybe she was desperate to get that sap off her hair? She looks so cute all washed and damp :)

    xx

    ReplyDelete
  21. I was feeling very nervous for you both...and CC...there for a while! Glad all ended happily and calmly.
    You have the sweetest cat Kim. :0)

    ReplyDelete
  22. Ahhh, CC was such a good girl, I reckon she knew you were helping her.

    ReplyDelete
  23. I am surprised that CC let you bathe her with no struggles. I guess she knew deep down inside you were just helping her. Gald everything turned out without scratches and bites. Love that last picture. Ana

    ReplyDelete
  24. I must say I was a bit disappointed at how calm CC was but happy for you. I always assumed that a cat would howl and claw its way out of a bath!!

    xo
    Lynn

    ReplyDelete
  25. I`m
    glad Carl got home so you can put your household back together.
    I`ve had to bath all my kitties cause they came from a farm & no one liked the baths.Your kitty must be really happy to get the sap off her.phyllis

    ReplyDelete
  26. She was a good kitty, behaving especially as this was her first real bath.
    The pictures are priceless, and I just bet she spent all day grooming herself after that.
    Well done, all of you !
    ~Jo

    ReplyDelete
  27. Ya'll are extremely brave. I would never even THINK about giving a cat a bath. Glad it worked out for you!

    ReplyDelete
  28. Just remember she is a Cat and should you have to bath her again, be as prepared again. One thing I love about cats, they are NEVER predicable LOL

    ReplyDelete
  29. She's adorable -- I just loved this post and I know what you mean, the cats that lived with us always lived with a lot of dogs and nothing much would face them.

    ReplyDelete
  30. LOL! i kept waiting for the bad news. streaking away... blood...
    loud angry meows...
    she took it like a little trooper!
    and that last picture says it all.
    on her soft furry back soaking up
    the rays!
    so glad to know cc better.
    yes. i agree with angus and texwisgirl... cc stands for cool cat!

    ReplyDelete
  31. Kim, glad you got to bathe CC...pine sap is so hard to remove!...:)JP

    ReplyDelete
  32. Oh wow! That is just incredible. How lucky you guys were to have CC stay so calm. What a trooper! That last picture is priceless!! Have a terrific weekend. :)

    ReplyDelete
  33. I too thought cats were terrible around water.

    Gill in Canada

    ReplyDelete
  34. What a good girl she was. I think she realized that she needed your help in this matter and was totally OK with it.
    Nice team work!

    ReplyDelete
  35. Aw, how sweet! She looks so happy now :)

    ReplyDelete
  36. She sounds calmer than me on bath day!

    ReplyDelete
  37. Haha ~ it looks like you got off easy bathing sweet kitty! Though, I must say, the few times I've bathed Banjo he didn't put up too much fuss either.

    Cats are funny.

    Hope your September is going well Kim!

    Hugs,
    xo Catherine

    ReplyDelete
  38. CC is one awesome kitty. I think your nerves of steel description is perfect. Living with all those dogs made her an honorary member of the K9 club. I've known a few cats like that, but they are rare.

    ReplyDelete
  39. Even though I rarely comment on your blogs.. I really enjoy reading them and catching up with whats going on in your neck of the woods..
    I would NEVER attempt to give Tubby a bath.. he'd shred me with those claws.. he's does even like when I clip his claws down.. glad CC didn't give you any trouble

    ReplyDelete
  40. My mom person bathed one of our cats once & got shredded!

    Nubbin wiggles,
    Oskar

    ReplyDelete
  41. I have a friend who works for a groomer and she says that cats are amazingly easy to bathe most of the time. I've never had the guts to try it ;-).

    ReplyDelete
  42. Cats are full of surprises and yes, she must have nerves of steel! She's beautiful.

    ReplyDelete
  43. Wow - we've never heard of a cat bathing that didn't involve bloodshed!

    Garth

    ReplyDelete

Speak--I really enjoy your comments! Thanks for stopping by today!!