Now Hand Me the Cat!

Now Hand Me the Cat

By Jacqueline G. Richardson

I am known for making decisions without thinking. The story below is just one of my 60+ years of personal examples.

Deciding to bathe a cat is risky business. Even more risky is choosing to take a bath with the cat.  Bathingwith No-tail will forever rank among my top150 errors in judgment.

No-tail was a very sweet, docile and trusting kitten. He had intestinal problems due to a birth defect; he had only the stub of a tail. There were crusts of poop on his butt and he didn't smell very good. I was certain of his trust that it felt was safe to get into a bathtub with him. The last thing I wanted to do was traumatize little No-tail. So, I stripped naked, filled the tub with warm water and got in. The final step was to have, my boyfriend give Not-tail to me. All I really I remember is saying, "Now hand me the Cat." Then came the blackout; the human brain's way of protect itself from psychological damage. Thanks to the blackout, I have only pale memories of the splashing, the clawing and the screaming that followed. Those words were equal to getting in to a tub of water and saying, "Now hand me the toaster and make sure it's plugged in." Being clawed half to death by a hysterically frightened kitty while wet and naked is not supposed to be funny; in retrospect was quite hilarious.  Bathing with No-tail is the source many of my bodily scars; proof that careful consideration should take place before diving into unknown waters. Lesson learned…not really.