Monday, August 16, 2010

August 16 - The Box and the Bath

Not much has happened lately, but today was very interesting and scary. My people went out on Saturday for a long time...just strolled out through the moving wall thing and closed it before I could follow him! He has a lot of nerve walking out on me and not letting me go where I please! When he isn't here, I can't get strokings and cuddles and extra food, after all...he was gone a long time, and smelled like people-sweat and dirt and something bittersweet a little like bread when he got back. I didn't cuddle him till he'd had a shower. He decided to scoop out the box after that, and I gave his hand a warm little gift since I'd been waiting to give it to someone for awhile and he was nearby and looked like he wanted something nice. Besides...I had to go! I couldn't hold it forever, and he was in there with his scoop and his little bag taking away the dirty sand stuff to make the box smell better. What's a kitten to do?

Anyway, back to today, since not much has happened between then and now except running around and chasing things. Today my people went out again, and I might have cried for him to come back but I'll never admit it...I'm not a baby anymore, after all, I'm growing up. He was gone a long time, and his big cat didn't want to play or talk or snuggle so it was a boring time for me. Eventually he did come back, and he brought in a bag with something hard in it, and a big box with hard little open squares on the front of it. I know what those are. Peoples put kittens in them when kittens have to go somewhere. Sure enough, he found me, cuddled me, then put me in the box. I didn't cry...I just sniffed around for awhile as he closed the front. Then I realized I couldn't get out, but by that point it was too late. He'd already picked the box up and was going outside with it. Out through the moving wall, then through another set of walls that I could sort of see through, and out to a car or a friggintruck with two female peoples in it. I heard my people call one of these females Scoot...is that really her name? It sounds silly, even for peoples! He got in the big grumbling friggintruck and it started growling louder and moving! I could see out the side of it, and all sorts of things were rushing past really really fast. The box was bouncing around a bit on my people's legs and I mewed to let him know that he shouldn't break me. After awhile though, when we started passing things faster than I could ever hope to run, I got really scared. I yelled like I've never yelled before, but my people wouldn't let me out. He kept talking to me, said, "Ming, it's okay, it's okay", but it wasn't okay! I was flying in a box too fast to stop, and I couldn't get out! Any cat would be scared, I think. After awhile, the friggintruck stopped and we went inside a people house, but this one was big and with hard floors and no food close by. I still couldn't get out of the box. My people talked to another female, then brought me into a small room and closed the wall.

Then I was let out. Scoot, the female, wouldn't let me run away, but she stroked me and gave me cuddles, and I gave her a bit of purring to show her that everything was all right. I wasn't really scared anymore, just a bit confused and curious. A little while later, another female came in, and said she was Yvette. Yvette...now there's a people name I like! My people insists on calling her "a vet", but the other one is better. Why do peoples have to mess around with words and how they look anyway? So, back to Yvette, or the vet, or whatever her name was. She put me on a hard bed thing and started shining lights on me and talking. I licked her. She was nice. She poked me a little and I grumbled at her, but she was gentle so I didn't bite or scratch. I really do like peoples when they're nice to me. She talked with my people, and then they put me back in the box. I knew what that meant, all right, and yelled right away. It didn't stop them though. They went back out to the big room with lots of people - and this time there was a big hairy four-legged thing Scoot called a "puppy"...a babydog I think, and it was trying to sniff me in my box. I knew it couldn't get at me, so I just curled up and let it sniff. My people took me back outside to the friggintruck and then we went back home. That trip was even worse than the first!

When we got home, my people let me out and Scoot took me for cuddles. He picked up the Carly right away and started talking to it - he has a lot of nerve talking to the Carly after putting me through that, by the way - while Scoot brought me over to the little metal box with a hole where he washes the things he eats from...a sink, I think it's called, maybe a dishes. She took all the stuff out of it, then started filling it with water. She had something in her other hand that my people had brought back from Yvette's house; it smelled a bit strange, a bit like the stuff my people uses in his hair to make him think it's clean. Then, all of a sudden, Scoot dipped me into the water, and I was wet! WET!! I hate being wet! Water is a tasty thing, but I don't want to swim in it! Splash, yes; drown, no! She got all of me very wet, then started using the stuff on me...she called it shampoo. Shampoo sounds a bit like the word my people uses when he's cleaning my box...the poo part, anyway. Maybe that's why I don't much like how it smells. She started rubbing me all over with this shampoo stuff, and it got foamy and slimy on my fur. Ugh! I tried to get away...I just wanted to roll around and get rid of it. I was thinking that Scoot must be a horrible person if she wants to drown kittens in foamy shampoo slime, but then she started to make it go away. There was more water, warm water still, and I still wanted to get away, but at least that horrible icky feeling was going away. Finally she pulled out a round thing that was in the hole in the sink and all the water started to go away. She wrapped me in a big fluffy thing my people calls a towel and started rubbing me to get rid of the rest of the water in my fur. Maybe Scoot isn't horrible after all. She didn't leave me wet; I was almost entirely dry when she was finished rubbing me, and I gave her thanks by purring.

The bigger cat was next. Kara made a lot of noise compared to me. She's an old cat, and has probably been in water more times than I could ever dream of, but I was easier about it than she was! I'm very proud of myself, but tried not to be too smug lest she catch wind of it and try chasing me. I'm not big enough or strong enough to fight, and I don't want her to hate me anyway. I just wish we'd get along.

Scoot left after drying Kara in another towel. My people cuddled with me for awhile as he was talking to the Carly some more...but it's weird. Sometimes the Carly makes different sounds...it's almost like there's different people he holds and talks to! Maybe they're not all Carly. I don't really understand, though.

So, I'm clean. I smell a little strange. I'm not too happy, but I'm not too upset either. My people says I have "ringworm", and that he got it from me. I don't know what this means, but I guess I'd better expect more water and smelly shampoo in the future. And maybe worse...but what is a pill?

4 comments:

  1. Ming, pills are little pieces of something that beans sometimes push down your mouth. Some are large and taste terribul, others are not too bad.

    Maybe you can get your bean to something called Pill Pockets, or at least give you some treats if your people are going to be sticking their pawd in your mouth.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Pills don't sound like too much fun. I hope they're the not-bad-tasting ones. My people likes giving me treats so maybe he'll get the hint and try to make them come when pills come. If these pills make it so I don't have to go in the sink-dishes anymore, I'll just have to be a tough kitten.

    ReplyDelete
  3. Ming, pills are terrible! Terrible, that is, until you've trained your people. I can get my human to talk to him if you like. Basically, what you do is this. When he tips your head back, open your mouth. We all do this. They think it's instinct, but really, it's to lure them in. They get hopeful that the job will be easy at this point. you should try and back away a bit when they first do this to make them think they've got a victory when you eventually do stay still. Wait until they're just about to put the pill in, then clamp your teeth together. They'll have to coax you to open your mouth again. Any attention is good attention, yes? You wait, then, until they put the pill in, then you struggle like mad and push it back out of your mouth with your tongue. If you're unlucky, they'll grab the pill, pop it in again, hold your mouth shut tight and rub your throat until you swallow. If you're lucky, they'll not notice this and will let you away thinking that you've swallowed it. If you're even luckier, they'll get frustrated and bring out the treats. Again, it's important to let them think they've won, here. It's based on a reward good behaviour principle, and treats definitely constitute good behaviour. open your mouth, let them pop the pill in, then they'll drop in a treat straight behind it. But here's where you're crafty. Whilst holding the treat in your mouth, push the pill out the side with your tongue. They're so busy watching you chew that they usually don't notice. This skill is quite an art and will take practice. Even I don't always get away with it, but I'm getting closer every day. Mummycat is amazing. It takes two of them to pill her! I'm studying her approach as we speak.

    Don't forget, always make noise when they get you wet, even if you don't really mind it. you get more cuddles that way.

    Tia

    ReplyDelete
  4. Hello young Ming, it's very nice to meet you. Lee County Clowder told us about you on the Cat Blogosphere. Tia is teaching you well. It's important to keep humans on their toes at all times.

    I'm sorry you had to go to Yvette, but it doesn't sound too bad. Baths are horrid, I have only had one in my life, but my brother gets one every month.

    I hope Kara warms to you, old ladycats take a while to show friendship to kittens, they just have to be in charge.

    Whicky Wuudler

    ReplyDelete