7.30.2010

Bath Time

My friend Tricia (who does not know cats) asked me recently if cats need to have regular baths like dogs. A fair question and I replied no, unless they become particularly dirty for some reason...

This reminded me of Casper’s adventure in the basement ceiling on Boxing Day 2008. We were off to spend the day in Hamilton with Robert’s family but before we left the house I could not find Casper anywhere. This is back when there was only Casper and Molly, so I was hard-pressed to lose a cat. Molly was in her room of course but Casper had vanished into thin air. I don’t like going out when I haven’t accounted for all the cats, because I never know if one of them has slipped into a closet when I wasn’t looking and become shut in. After ages of hunting for Casper we had to set off or we wouldn’t make it on time. When we returned late that evening, Casper had reemerged, but he was filthy! His snow white coat, his paws and even the tips of his ears were all grey. We could not figure out where he had been to get so sooty and dusty. We were exhausted after several days of Christmas activities, so we left him as he was and went to bed. First thing the next morning though we went out to buy the special cat shampoo and gave Casper his one and only bath (to date).

Casper the Grey
Robert held him in the kitchen sink and I worked fast to lather him up and rinse him off before he went crazy. But Casper is such a gentle soul, there was no “crazy” and he just stood quiet and still in the sink only letting out one plaintive meow when he first got wet. After the bath we toweled him off, and then we got out his brush and the hairdryer. He LOVED the warm air from the hairdryer and lay happily purring on his towel while he was brushed and styled. He looked great after his bath, he is already a handsome cat but his fur was amazingly soft and fluffy. Robert and I were pretty proud of ourselves that the bath had worked out so well (even though it was Casper’s good behaviour which made it easy) but we didn’t really want a repeat performance. That’s why the next day when Casper showed up grey AGAIN he did not get a second bath. I didn’t think another bath so soon would be good for his skin, so he just got a vigorous toweling and brushing to try and get the dust off him, but I did try to wipe his ears at least with damp tissues. It wasn’t until later that day when I saw Casper jump off the top of the furnace that we realized what had happened.

Fluff  'n Fold
We have a finished basement, but unfortunately the furnace and its piping cannot be closed off so they are exposed against one wall downstairs. While trying to rearrange the basement to get maximum space for Christmas guests, I had moved some storage boxes beside the furnace. This made a nice ladder for Casper to climb up to the top of the furnace then tightrope walk across a pipe to an access hole in the corner of the ceiling behind the water heater (I’m afraid I don’t dust up there so Casper’s footprints were left as evidence of his route). Then he hopped up into the space between the drywall ceiling and the exposed beams of the floor above. I cringe to think that he probably spent hours walking around exploring in the ceiling amid years of accumulated dust and yuck! Once we discovered his secret, we put an immediate stop to his fun. The boxes were moved elsewhere and chicken wire was wrapped around the water heater and the access hole. To this day Casper still stands in the basement hall and gazes up at the ceiling meowing longingly. I know he is reliving his Christmas adventure and would be back up there in a second if he could. When I see him doing this I usually walk up to him and point accusingly at him and make my angry face (what a dork). You must remember that Casper is deaf therefore saying a firm “no” or clapping hands to get him to stop an unwanted behaviour is useless. I have to improvise and find some other way to let him know I am unhappy so the reproachful pointing while making a stern face and trying to tower over him menacingly usually makes him skulk off with his tail down. That little monkey knows he shouldn’t have been in the ceiling in the first place but I can never stay mad at him for long  :-)

Beautiful Again

26 comments:

Anonymous said...

You are such a good boy!!! Casper the Grey made mom LOL! You are such a sweetie for letting them get you all spiffy again!

SeaThreePeeO said...

What a great story about how adventurous Casper can be!

Hannah and Lucy said...

We don't think either of us would be good taking a bath - we think mum would need to wear gauntlets!!

Parker said...

"Fluff and Fold" - HaHaHaHaHa!

Kea said...

He's a little monkey all right! He and Nicki are two peas in a pod, with their mischief-making. LOL.

But what a good boy he was for the bath! Very impressive. There's no way I'd attempt to bathe any of mine, especially on my own. I'd probably lose a limb. Haha!

Marg said...

That is a great story. Sure glad you found where he was going. And he does look beautiful now. I can't imagine giving any of these cats a bath. It sounds like he as a super boy about that. Probably felt good.
Have a good week end.

Brian's Home Blog said...

Oh no Casper, that was an adventure. My Dad tried to give me a bath once, but the fur kept sticking to his tongue.

Feed Readers are programs that let you subscribe to a "feed" of what you might like to read. Google has Google Reader and I use one called Feed Demon. It is a convenient way to read the posts without having to go to blogger.

Jacqueline said...

Casper is a gorgeous sweetheart; what an excellent boy to be so good for a bath!!...We're sure he had quite the adventure exploring the house from inside the walls!!...Happy weekend sweet, beautiful friends...kitty kisses x3...Calle, Halle, Sukki

meowmeowmans said...

Such an adventure! Casper is such a good boy ... I'm not sure our cats would be so good about a bath.

Have a great weekend!

SASS....Sammy Andy Shelly Sierra said...

Great story about Casper!!!!

Thanks for visiting us.....it is so very nice to meet y'all. We are purring that we will all get to know each other better....you are some gorgeous/handsome kitties. Have a grand weekend.

Amy & the house of cats said...

Wow what a story! I used to give the cats baths but have stopped, though I really do need to give Kirzon one because his fur is quite oily (but I haven't done it because I am too lazy quite honestly). Casper is so funny - I could just picture him up there having a great time, and now, wishing he could get back up there again!

Katnip Lounge said...

Too funny about Casper the Gray!
We have had to bathe out cats on occasion, too. The Baby rolled in red clay dirt once and I tried putting her in the shower stall and hosing her down. Well, I learned two things: 1) she hates water; 2) she can jump seven vertical feet out of the shower stall. I still laugh at the look on her face when the water hit!

Goldie, Shade and Banshee said...

Thanks for sharing that! What a little devil you are Casper!!

ANGEL ABBYGRACE said...

What a story!

Casper is a character!

We also account for all of our kitties before we leave, and even before going to bed. You never know...one time I trapped Boo in a closet and didn't know it and I trapised around in the dark in my pj's looking for her and in the end Jinx told us where she was, opened the door and out she pops like oh it was nothing.

LOL

purrin

xo
Abby

Cara n Crew said...

Casper, I cannot believe you sit still for the "fluff and fold" (mol, by the way!). I have to have baths sometimes cuz I have allergies and while I don't mind that so much, the hot air blowy thing is just too noisy and scary.

My sisters and I are sorry your basement adventures were foiled.

-Pip

mamabear said...

It is very interesting to hear about the sign language with Casper. We were told by Spike's previous owner that he did know some signs and we did have some success with the "come on" wave for food. The "point and scowl" was purely by chance when I was frustrated with Spike jumping on one of the other cats..and surprisingly it worked, since he backed off very quickly!

Sweet Purrfections said...

Casper had a wonderful adventure. My sister before me did the same thing to my mom once and they were frantic because they couldn't find her in the ceiling of a school bandroom.

CCL Wendy said...

In that last picture, Casper looks like a little angel! It actually sounds like he is when he's awake, too -- standing still for you to bathe him! What a guy!

The pristine white is just lovely. I had pure white cats when I was a kid. They're addictive!

Angel Simba said...

That is so sweet that Casper did so well with bathing and hairblower drying. I guess there wasn't any noise from the dryer for him. My only "baths" have involved a little washing of my hindquarters, and I have intensely disliked the experience.

♥I am Holly♥ said...

Love that story!! Kitties can get into so much trouble without even trying! You just never know where they might try to go if given the chance! I loved Casper's story and he sure was nice to let you bath him. The only bath one of my kitties has gotten was done at the vet. I didn't think I could handle her by myself! Lots of love, Debbie and Holly

Dr Tweety of da Fab Five said...

Your kitteez are sooper dooper purrty & furry nicely taken care of. We wanted to stop by & say tank you fur your kind wordsez to Delilah... we appresheated dat furry much!

dArtagnan Rumblepurr/Diego Hamlet Moonfur said...

Psst... Casper... you gotta come here my friend. You and me would get into SO much trouble!!!

*RUMBLEPURR*

Hannah and Lucy said...

We're glad the kickeroo was a success - thanks for commenting on our new blog header - we are delighted with it.

The Creek Cats said...

I used to love taking baths! Haven't had one since I was a little kitten.

Thanks so much for stopping by and wishing me a happy gotcha day!!
♥ Saylor

Ellen Whyte said...

How brave to bathe without a fight!

Milo and Alfie Marshall said...

We just so enjoyed reading this post! And we larfed and larfed when we read: "I have to improvise and find some other way to let him know I am unhappy so the reproachful pointing while making a stern face and trying to tower over him menacingly ..." ~ MOL! We fink we'd LOVE yoor stern face ~ can we pop over so yoo can make it at us? :chuckle:

Milo and Alfie xx