The Greatest Indignity

Day 360: This went more smoothly than I'd expected. Other than having the water turned on him once when I was trying to teach him to stay out of the kitchen sink, Merry had not yet had anything resembling a true bath. Cats in this household get bathed several times a year, mind you, and I needed to start breaking him in to the process while he's still young. I fully expected him to come up all teeth and toenails, but other than resisting having his front paws lowered into two inches of warm water (his back feet were already in), there was no particular struggle. I soaped him up, rinsed him with the sprayer and by holding him beneath the faucet, all the time talking gently to him and keeping my eyes closed so as not to present a threat if he tried to initiate eye contact.. His beautiful Russian Blue coat barely shed a hair, as opposed to Tippy's and Skunk's, either of which filled the drain strainer whenever they were bathed. Merry and I concluded the procedure with both of us unscathed and thoroughly wet, and no harm done. His initial Tropicana Cat Wash experience was a total success!

First Bath

Day 279: "Okay," I said, "you wanta be in the kitchen sink? This is what happens to little kitties who get in the kitchen sink." I removed the bowl he'd been investigating, turned the water on over the side basin to warm up, and when I had the temperature set, I put the stopper in the drain, fully expecting panic to ensue. Surprisingly, it did not, not even when I sloshed the water over his back. Having come that far without teeth or toenails becoming embedded in my anatomy, the next step was to swing the faucet around so the water was running directly on him. It was almost as if he'd expected it. He just stood there, getting wetter by the minute with the water level in the sink rising around his ankles. I lifted up his front paws, splashed water on his tummy. He was unfazed. I didn't soak him thoroughly, nor did I apply kitty shampoo, but for a first bath experience, Merry gets a gold star for good behaviour. He didn't even mind being towel-dried.