Simple tasks can turn into an event.
Take for instance, taking your cat to the pet shop to get its fur trimmed when
it is matted. First there is the carrier, which is an event all in itself. You
have to move as a ninja and not let the cat even sense that it will be put in that
ugly box.
What I usually do is put the carrier
on top of the washing machine early in the morning so if (and she always does)
my cat sees it there will be a memory loss until the actual time of getting in
it. Oh yeah, and leave the door open. Then a few minutes before having to leave
the house, I pick her up and treat her like a baby and gently take her over to
the laundry room and place her in. Nowadays she is nine years old so calmly,
without scratching my arms and hands, she goes in.
On the way to the pet shop all is
calm and dandy. No stress. She is buckled up in the front seat, sometimes in
the back seat but I have realized that if the cat keeps an eye on you it is
less stressful for them and less dangerous for you.
Now, to get her out of the box is almost
an impossible mission. It is as if she digs all her claws in the box and holds
on with her life. After she is out, you have to quickly close the carrier door,
otherwise she will quickly run back in and then it’ll be another handful of
minutes to get her out.
As she lies there waiting for the
razor to start for she knows what is about to happen, she gives you the eye. Yes,
an eye that chills your spine; an eye that tells you that for sure she will get
you back. The most my cat does is ignore me for the rest of the day and then by
bedtime all is well again.
The process of eliminating a Persian
cat’s fur takes around an hour or so. It is not painful, but it is stressful
for the cat and for the owner. It is clear to see how much your cat wants to be
left alone. There are some cats that get so angry during this process that they
bite the person grooming them and sometimes even their owner. (My cat, however,
tries to deal with the situation calmly, but giving the eye.)
After sixty minutes, the carrier
door is opened and she flings from the trimming table right smack into the
carrier and scrunches her back to the far end of it so as to hide. However, as
soon as the box is opened at home, safe and sound territory, she walks out proud,
tail high in the air, but funny looking due to the lack of fur. She walks over
to her favorite spot and starts licking her coat over. Good thing this only
takes place once a year.
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| Photo by Meire Marion ( Cookie - Sept. 25, 2012) |
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