A Clean Cat Is A Happy Cat

My poor little kitty, Xena, has a skin condition on her back. The vet says that she must have been scratched really badly somewhere along the line, and now the nerves on her lower back are really sensitive. Now she has a hard time getting that part of her back clean. The hair gets matted and it just drives her crazy. I'd had enough of her gunky-ness and took her to the local "Pet Spa". This pet spa was self-serve. You can wash and clip your own pet, using their supplies. I was thinking she just needed to be shaved. Well, not many cats go to the pet spa, but lots of dogs go there. Big dogs, little dogs, yappy dogs. Xena hates dogs with a fiery passion! But I was determined. We started the motorized clipping process, but quickly moved on to just combing and cutting out the matted hair with scissors. She was fairly patient at first, but after about 10 minutes she started to fight back- with teeth and claws! I think she punctured a vein in my hand with a partcularly well-aimed claw swipe. I decided I was done when she started to latch on to my arm with all of her sharp weapons. By then, I'd done a pretty good job of getting the clumps out, and we made our escape. It's funny how she forgets all about her trauma after a few hours and wants to be my best friend again. She is so much happier now, even if she looks just a little funny!

Xena in her cat carrier on the way to the Pet Spa. She hates her carrier, because nothing good ever happens when she has to be in it. Cat carriers usually mean a trip to the vet, where 4 large people have to hold he down to get a blood sample.On the clipping table at the Pet Spa. She is staring at a dog being washed just feet away. You can see the panic in her eyes! You have no idea how brave I was to let go of her long enough to take this picture!