the cause of it all
My sister Mary called to tell me her cat Shaman had been been sprayed by a skunk. She said it wasn’t your regular gee-the-cat-stinks story. Oh no. This is OUR family.
She knew she’d have to give Shaman a bath. She prepared the traditional skunk scent removing bath of tepid tomato juice, scooped up the unsuspecting kitty and dumped him in the tub.
As soon as Shaman hit the juice, he responded as if he’d been charged with 1000 volts of electricity. He levitated above the blood red surface and let out a yowl-growl accusing her of both attempted murder and drowning. As she held him down and gently bathed his fur in juice, he whipped his little face around and bit her on the arm.
Mary screamed and momentarily lost her grip on Shaman who sprang onto her shoulder all claws out and disappeared out the open bathroom door.
My sister gazed in horror as he ran down the stairs, circled the living room, the dining room, the hall, and the kitchen, spraying tomato juice in his wake. She chased him swearing, “No! No! No! Come here you f@#$%^&& little bastard!”
The house was a disaster. Tomato juice was flung on the furniture, the ceiling, paintings, the stove, cabinets, rugs, and so forth from Shaman’s fruitless flight to freedom. Mary was bleeding from the bite on her arm and the claw punctures on her shoulder hurt. Plus she was crying and swearing from pain and anger (but mostly from anger).
She cleaned the bathtub and mopped the floors, but the carpets and furniture needed professional help. Friends suggested calling Clean For A Day Services which she did explaining her urgent need. They promised to be at her house at 8 AM the next morning. She promised to leave a key.
At 8:15 AM Mary received a call from the manager of Clean For A Day Services. Apparently the cleaners thought a gruesome murder had been committed. They were frightened and wanted the manager to call the police.
Mary described the cat bath fiasco that resulted in the house looking like it was covered in dried blood. She gave the manager the whole story in vivid detail, mentioning her bitten arm. She even offered to present Shaman, a still skunk-stinky cat with dried tomato juice (or was it blood??) crusted fur as evidence of her innocence.
Eventually it all got straightened out and the rugs and furniture were cleaned professionally with no arrests. Shaman ended up getting a bath outside and spent a significant amount of time in the yard until the stench of skunk was more bearable. He was really unhappy about that but Mary didn’t seem to care. She said he was lucky she didn’t hold him under water.
Did you know that humor is a MAJOR form of communication? That’s why I love writing these posts for you. If you have a skunk story to share with me, please hit reply and let me hear it. And, if you’re looking to get over your fear of engaging new people in conversation, come work with me and I’ll teach you how to talk to anyone, anywhere about almost anything! Successful conversations are about self-confidence, and that’s my area! You can click on this button below and we can set up a time to chat. Yes! Let’s Talk
