Saturday, April 11, 2009

"How To"- By My Son Wyatt

The other day I was busy organizing the 7,500+ digital pictures that are on my computer. Yes, I said 7,500. Sickening is it not? Lets just say my kids are never going to wonder what they looked like when they were growing up. But the fact that I was preoccupied with electronic filing was undeniable.

Meanwhile, Lucky kitty, the infamous cat who's twin was killed out on the road, was playing in the house with the kids. Here's Lucky in a tree. He loves to climb trees.


Well, lets just say that Wyatt was playing with Lucky, and Lucky was not objecting in any recognizable form to the games. My son likes to wrap the cat in blankets, carry him around, and otherwise treat him like a stuffed animal.


I was throwing out the usual advice, "Be careful with the cat. Hey, don't do THAT! He may scratch you." and so on. I am a good mommy after all and not totally preoccupied with the computer. It shows right?

Wyatt, paying no heed to any of these words of caution, herded Lucky into the bathroom for some mysterious reason. Then my child went inside and shut the door behind him.

With the click of the closing door, I was thinking, "Hmmmm. Looks like trouble. Smells like trouble. Trouble will follow. It is really only a matter of time."

I called out, "Wyatt, let the cat out of the bathroom."

Silence.

I repeated with a stronger urgency, "Wyatt, you have to let the cat out of the bathroom."

Still no reply. I sat and organized photos for a few more moments. OK maybe a few more minutes longer since there were no screams of terror from either the cat or the kid. I mean, what could they possibly be doing in there anyway? I heard some bumping and rustling, but that could be normal right?

Seeing as how curiosity killed the cat, I had to get up and see just what the heck they were doing in there. One must take into account that Wyatt was trying to pee on the rooster last week, so I would not put it past him to try the same trick with the cat.

Rising to walk the short distance to the bathroom, I could hear running water as I neared the entry. Turning the handle and cracking open the door, I was not prepared for what was inside. Frankly speaking, no parent wants to see what I witnessed.

My child had a sink full of water, soapy bubbles on his right hand and a very wet cat clutched in his left hand. As I looked upon the scene, Wyatt looked up at me and proceeded to gently wrap both of his hands around Lucky's chest. Then he dipped the cat's posterior in the water. Then lifting the cat out of the sink he placed him on the counter and started to brush the wet fur with his soapy hand while carefully holding the front half of the cat with his other hand.

There was water all over the floor. A sheet of water lie on the counter top and around the sink. One wet black cat was held by an equally wet boy. All this in a matter of four unsupervised minutes.

There was no sign of struggle from Lucky. My son did not have his eyes scratched out. Apparently, the cat accepts bathing by children now, among all the other things he tolerates.

"What are you doing?" I asked. I guess this was kind of obvious. He was washing the cat. The better question was my follow up, "Why are you washing the cat?"

I must admit that during this strange encounter, my attempt to hide laughter was impossible. I was chuckling wholeheartedly at the site of the two of them in the bathroom. The fact that my son was not irreversibly scarred for life was amazing. Any other cat I have ever know would have dug it's claws into human flesh leaving five inch slashes and yowled like it's fur was on fire. But not Lucky.

Wyatt then said assertively, "Mom, Lucky's butt stinks. I needed to wash his buttock. I did it cause I needed to." And yes, Wyatt likes to use the word, "buttock." Daily, I thank my husband for that lovely addition to Wyatt's vocabulary.

Since we adopted Lucky, we have noticed he does smell more than any other cat we have ever owned. Actually, I don't think I can remember any other feline with whom I have been acquainted ever having a discernible smell. There is usually an odor in Lucky's vicinity. It is like a special aura. In fact, Lucky might possibly be half or one quarter skunk. He farts like a dog and if you happen to be holding him at the time of emission the resultant stench clings to your clothes for at least five minutes. So it is no understatement that Lucky's butt smells a little. Instead of "Walter the Farting Dog" I could write children's books on "Lucky the Farting Feline." What publisher do I pitch that one too?

"I don't think you should be washing the cat, Wyatt." I continued my response through smiles and restrained laughter. "It's not funny to wash the cat. Really, Wyatt, he could scratch you badly. If that was Shmobie you'd be in the emergency room."

This is Shmobie below. He's a 20 pounder...


"But Mom, Lucky does not mind. Really!" My son had a point. The cat was sitting calmly in his hands complete with water dripping off his back. Or it's just that Wyatt knows how to wash a cat properly.

Nothing had gone wrong yet, so I took this as a sign and I repossessed the cat from Wyatt. I let Lucky free in the living room where he immediately sat down and began to lick himself in a workman like manner. It was just another day at our property for him. Then Wyatt and I cleaned up the flooded bathroom.

I think Lucky is basically the best dog we have ever had.

17 comments:

Suzi said...

Your last statement is very accurate. I love how he follows the kids around as a dog would. He's the best little stinker we could ask for.

Olde Dame Penniwig said...

Oh goody, an Easter story on yer blog.

Was thinking before I stopped by, "Surely the madwoman, oops, The Botanist won't put one of her usual tales up right before Easter...all the OTHER bloggie ladies are putting up nice stories and talking of baby chicks and pretty flowers and soft sweet-smelling bunnies..."

*sigh* I guess it is an Easter "tail" of sorts...Lucky of the Stinky Tail...Now he's all nice and fresh and ready to greet the Easter Bunny tomorrow!

theUngourmet said...

What a nice kitty(except for the stinky buttock part).

We have 2 cats and they both have issues. One is long haired and so he is always vomiting up hairballs (which he does right in his food dish)! And the other is part Siamese and she has a skin condition, a dirty buttocks, and is a nervous wreck!

Wanna trade?

Julia said...

ODP-If one wants cute bunnies they can go to YOUR site!!! That's the best best place for beautiful images. I will always provide the strange tales of my little life regardless of the holiday... That you can count on.

DG-I would not trade our stinking Lucky for anything! Thanks for offering though.

:)

Mammatalk said...

What a great story! :+) Thanks for the laugh.

MsSnarkyPants said...

Wow that is one tolerant kitty! I'm pretty sure my psycho cat would have murdered my poor child if he even formed that plan! She is a bit on the insane side though...

Michelle Jackson said...

Wow, that's an amazing cat! I remember the one time my mother tried to bathe the adorable little kittens our mamma kitty had brought into our home. She wanted them nice and clean before finding them new homes. Those adorable little furballs turned into miniature monsters! Maybe your son has a gift...maybe he is a cat whisperer!

By the way, I left a little goodie for you over on my blog. Please, stop by and check it out. :)

Anonymous said...

Lucky is a cat dog. I've never heard of a more tolerant cat.

Paula & Skip said...

Hi, the two of them go along quite well and this is really a giggle and laugh story. So nice written too. Have a great Easter Sunday. Paula xx

The Silver Age Sara said...

Julia,
I think your last line sums it up. Lucky is definitely more like a dog. I don't know many cats who would let their stinky buttock be washed.
Wyatt, as always, is adorable.
I loved the photos and I have tons of pictures too but now I make sure I copy them because when my old computer crashed, I lost many of them.
Thanks for a wonderful tail :)

Anonymous said...

That story is so cute! "Buttock" hahaha!

Ryan Ashley Scott said...

I'm laughing so hard at this - the whole thing! He "just had to" is something a boy can say and get away with because we're too busy laughing to do anything about it. Along with "buttock."

Sharkbytes (TM) said...

Too funny! I had forgotten that the dead Lucky tale was yours. I think that was the first time I found your blog. Lucky is quite a character. I think he fits your household perfectly! Love the pic of him in the tree.

brokenteepee said...

Whoa...Stinky, she of the raspberry at Michael the goat, would have shredded your son. And Stinky is so named for olfactory reasons. We are currently in a 400 sq ft trailer while the house is being built and you KNOW when stinky is in the box. Or the trailer.

Frogs in my formula said...

Our cats are 20+ pounds each and they act like little dogs too, but they'd never let us bathe them. Good thing your kitty tolerates it from kids--that's too funny. And hey, his reasoning was right on the money...

Jennifer said...

Too funny! Our kids never cease to amaze us, do they?

Jenny said...

How cute! My sister in law introduced the word buttocks to my son at about 3 or 4. It was so hard not to laugh when he would say.."I fell and hurt my boo-tocks"
It's amazing what our pets put up with from our children isn't it?

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