there's a first time for everything ...

obligatory journal 014

First Time: bathing

As much as I am a constant lover of cats as that previous post on meowing have clearly indicated, I unfortunately fell under the category of taking things for granted, as in spending time with them when I wanted to during my leisure time and shooing them off when it's not convenient to me. That was my old selfish perspective but I learned to be better when one by one the cats died in my vicinity. I felt horrible since almost all of the kittens being born at the back of the house would die eventually and I couldn't do anything about it, could only served them food and water and watch them deteriorate over time and eventually passed. I would only provide food and pet them but did not seemed to care of their health and future, but that's all in the past and I learned from my mistakes.

I began to take them to the nearby government-run vet or clinic for animals when I caught a glimpse of something out of the ordinary and even though my trip didn't always panned out the way that I want to, I persisted and and thankfully a few of them got better and be their true selves eventually. Now I know what it means to have a pet of your own and despite they are strays that just decided to make my house their permanent lounging area a.k.a. home, I care for them just the same.

With that being said, I took a huge step in accepting my responsibility as an 'owner' just a few days ago and even though this might seem trivial for some of you who have done your due diligence to care for your own, it was still a major achievement in my book since I believe I became closer to them than ever before, something that I honestly afraid of since I don't want to be that attached to them that I would feel I lost a part of me when they are not by my side anymore ... 

If you haven't figured out already from the pictures, I bathed them! Ha ha, yeah I know! I've seen all different kinds of videos on the internet of cats and dogs reacting bizarrely to their respective bath time but I never imagine that I would someday do it myself. I've always see them cleaning themselves up by licking their fur and I thought that should be enough for them, but since they're not exactly house cats and would wander around the neighbourhood, I noticed that there are a lot of ticks on their body and fur. That made me thought of ways to get rid of them and bathing them seemed to be the most effective on the list which I proceeded to get ready for with a tub (or in this case basin) of warm water and a brand new animal shampoo that claimed it would get rid of fleas and ticks (more on that later). When the time finally came after I postponed it so many times before, the cats came closer to me when I prepare the bath, oblivious of the fate waiting for them. I know cats are not fond of water and since I used it to sometimes effectively shoo them away, I knew I was in for a bumpy ride. I got the smallest target first i.e. the kitten and as I expected he tried to get away as soon as its feet reached the water, forcing me to improvise and hold on to him close to my body while patting the water and the shampoo on the body bit by bit (which was my modus operandi for the following two cats) and rinsing them off carefully. I noticed that they would tried to claw themselves out of the basin straight away and even my hands and my shirt got scratch marks to prove their intense dislike of the liquid but I found out (too late for the kitten, BJ though) that if I kept them close to my body while I bathed them, they would be much more calmer and let it happen to them! Since they are familiar with my body heat, it was the only source of heat to counter the wetness and it let them know I was by their side and I was doing this out of love. When all was said and done, they were sitting there quietly trembling from the cold as I helped them to dry out with a couple of towels. The day after, I found the fur post-bath wasn't that much different at all although it certainly looked cleaner and have that distinct fresh-out-of-the-shower smell. Most importantly though the ticks are still there! Darn it!

Could any of you guys help me in finding out the best way to get rid of them for good? Is it the ineffective shampoo (that was admittedly cheap)? Should I bath them every day then? Do you have any other much more effective alternatives? Or do I have to keep plucking them out one by one just like I did now? Please help!

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P.S. Oh, BJ stands for Black Junior, the only living kitten of her mother, Tam Tam. The orange one is of course Gebu which translated to 'fluffy'!