Ernie had a difficult week

There was the heat wave. If he went outdoors and came onto the porch, he couldn’t get into the cooler house. If he stayed in the cooler house, he couldn’t go outdoors. He was unhappy all week.  We all know how bad the heat wave was.  I don't need to blog about it ...

Adding injury to insult, Ernie had another run-in with the Churchill’s barn cat on Thursday at  3am, which I broke up by throwing a pot of cold water on the swirling cat mass. I got the other cat, since Ernie was pretty dry when I got him in. Then I had to doctor the scratches Ernie had received – plenty of them, but no bites. Ernie does not like being doctored.

This morning I came onto the porch from my Sunday visit at Thelma’s and the air on the porch reeked.  Ernie reeked.  Ernie, bath time.

I drew water 3” deep in the bathtub, put Ernie in, poured warm water over him, and (ta-daa) He Stood Still. Somehow he knew this must be a good thing. I shampooed him, rinsed him a lot (with a big pitcher) and He Stood Still. I wrapped him in a towel to dry him off and He Sat Quietly In My Lap. Of course he had to try to lick himself dry. Seeing dozens of hairballs in the future, I brushed him to dry him out and he actually thought that was good too.  He was happy to finish drying on the porch, with a fan blowing gently on him.