Slick Kitty

It's been a while, but life has been somewhat boring for a while. Until this past weekend.

Read on!

I am not sure if I've ever mentioned that we are the adopted parents of Josephus Awrightus' cat, Figaro. He's made his home with us for almost 3 years now (I think), because when JA moved out, he wasn't too sure of how safe his furry friend would be in his new digs. So Figaro (aka Mafia Cat) has made his home with us for almost 3 years.

He's had his share of adventures. And he didn't come by the name "Mafia Cat" because of his gentle nature. He hates other cats, although he tolerates dogs okay. And he's always ready for a fight. Last year he tangled with something bigger than he was--probably a raccoon, and after a $164-ish vet bill to fix him up, we determined he would no longer be allowed to spend nights outside. Now he has lost his "after dark" outside privileges as well. Here's the story.

Friday evenings Josephus Awrightus comes over for dinner and to hang out with his parents. Last Friday, he made a run to Barnes & Noble (payday, money burning a hole in his pocket), and when he returned about 9:45, Mafia Cat wanted in as well. But all was not well with Mafia Cat!

He looked pretty disheveled and grubby, and on closer inspection, we realized he was covered in motor oil. How he got that way, we can only guess. We couldn't just leave that on him, so we attempted to wipe him down as best we could, but he wasn't having any. After a good romp through the house trying to catch up with him so we could try to wipe off the oil, and even wash it off with a squirt bottle filled with soap, we just put old blankets on all the surfaces that he usually sits on and called it good.

The next morning he seemed pretty humble and subdued, but that only lasted until Pink Avenger came over and we attempted to give him a bath. We all know that most cats hate water. We weren't going to actually immerse him in water, but were attempting to wash him off by soaking him down with our *wucka-wucka* machine (bug sprayer but never had any chemicals in it) and applying Dawn dish soap on a sponge to the affected parts. We were well gloved, had him in the bathtub, plenty of towels, and were prepared for the worst!

Which we got! His normal meow is pretty lame, which seems odd considering he's a 20-pound cat and meaner than a junkyard dog. However, his *howler* works very well. We both came near to losing a hand or two, and when it was all over *Slick* climbed Pink Avenger's leg and attempted to bite and scratch her. He didn't seem particularly interested in having us dry him off, so we let him out of the bathroom and he had to dry pretty much on his own.

Naturally he'd do something like this late on a Friday night, and Petsmart doesn't bathe kitties on the weekend.

He looks a lot better, although his left cheek (white) and left back paw (also white) still is a dirty brown color, and you can tell there's still oil residue on his back and sides. But Mafia Cat has a new nickname which we will probably use forever: Slick!

And Slick must be in before dark!