Gunk is the stuff I have to put on the back of Austin’s neck every two or three months so that he doesn’t get little friends joining him on life’s journey. Much as I feel that Austin needs company, I do draw the line at anything that can jump higher than my house. It’s a time of great stress as I have detailed before (probably at great length, but intensive therapy has made the memory rather nebulous).
So, in approaching the moment of touch down with the ampule, I have to pick the optimum time. If he’s too much awake and alert, then it will be me down the A & E with a shredded arm. If he is too deeply asleep then the shock will cause him to leap three feet in the air and again I’m down A & E, this time for a catectomy to have Austin prised off my face. No, he needs to be just a bit dozy with his neck facing upwards. Approach is cautious but determined. I make to walk by him but at the last moment as if I’ve just remembered something, I turn. As I turn I bend over the sweet puss and like an assassin with a stiletto I move in for the
Three seconds it’s all over and Austin realises he’s been “done”, but that’s ok as I’m already in the car and on the way to Llandudno for some much needed coffee and a quiet read in Waterstones.
By the time I get back he’s still doing his low-slung cat thing and scratching, but that’s just for show. He sure knows how to hold a grudge. The scathing look, the threatening tail, the derrière of disrespect! I am history …… for all of five minutes :) "Treats, Austin?”
Life is hard when you are a cat!
Oh, oh, how well I remember this times. However oscar as well s Zoe bode well. Rather undisturbed and no A&E from my side. So you drove to Llundadno? The one and only Llundudno I know and ever so oftene njoyed fabulous times at the beach is the nuditiy beach by said name in South Africa, close to Cape town. No idea where you went to, but it brought wonderful memories of stripe less sun bathing...
ReplyDeleteOne thing we can say, Austin, we are so glad we don't get the gunk on our necks...well, Zoey did once when she first came into the house.
ReplyDeletePaula, sorry to disabuse you, this Llandudno is full of old ladies and retired gentlemen from Liverpool and Manchester!! I think if anyone stripped on the beach it would cause some consternation!! lol
ReplyDeleteIsland cats, Austin commiserates with Zoey :)
Kudos to you for figuring out that 'sweet spot' for getting the job done. I'm sure quite a few trips to the A & E were in order before you figured it out.
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You have described almost to a T my monthly ordeal with Miss Cindi Lou. At least Austin has relatively short fur so the assassin move works well. Miss Cindi has long thick fur so first I need to pick her up, brush aside some of her fur then apply. By this time she is irate and I am in mortal danger.
ReplyDeleteShe will not get near me for hours unless treats are offered as a peace settlement.
Leave it to us cat to not make the job easy.
ReplyDeleteThat gunk is very complicated! Maybe you need a shot of potato water to wind down?
ReplyDeleteOh boy! My Mama and Dad would gang up and administer the gunk after our hydrotherapy. Sending them to A&E sounds like a good option. purrr...meow!
ReplyDeleteCarolyn - you have described the ordeal so well! "The scathing look, the threatening tail, the derriere of disrespect." Boy, don't I know it times seven!
ReplyDeleteI get the not wanting critters in the house thing. But the 'gunk' is expensive and it caused burns on Bubba's skin. So I use diatomaceous earth on the kitties now. It's a natural product (it's fossil dust) that doesn't kill pests with pesticides but instead by cracking the exoskeleton, making the little critter susceptible to disease.
ReplyDeleteI was skeptical at first, but now I swear by the stuff. I treat the cats, the yard, the house. And no fleas.
I do give the Rumpy Comfortis, because of daycare. But with DeDe's skin problems, I find the DE works better for her also.
Oh yeah, it costs WAY less than the meds too.
I´m sure glad that I don´t need to be Gunked !
ReplyDeleteI hope those treats you got Austin where really tasty ones !
Since Allie's scare last year (we thought she had heartworms!) we diligently put "the gunk" on all three during the months where mosquitos thrive.
ReplyDeleteDoesn't seem to matter that the boyz don't ever go out - those pesky mosquitoes always seem to find their way into the house!
So...gunk it is! And Faraday rivals Austin in the Disgusted Look CATegory!
(So sorry we've been away - and thanks so much for popping over & following our story this past week!! :-)
Oh Honey, my mommy used to have to give Admiral the Gunk when workmen brought fleas into the house. (Mom's kitties never are allowed out)Admiral could smell it coming a mile away and ran to hide. There was no suddenly remembering something tho mommy tried that innumerable times..all to no avail. One had to carry the unopened dose behind her back to a sleeping Admiral..quickly snap off the top and apply in a nanosecond. Admiral said it stung..(v-e-t said so) and that's why she was so hard to dose.
ReplyDeletexoxoxox
Austin
ReplyDeleteI run around with my b*tt on fire when Mom puts the gunk on me! I hate it too Austin.
purrs
>^,,^<
♥Abby♥Boo♥Ping♥Jinx♥Grace♥
It's THAT day at our house today. Cranky critters abound now...(they say it is just so undignified). Cute tale.
ReplyDeleteOf all the things I miss dearly from my years in California, "gunk day" is not one of them. Keeping the cats flea free was a never-ending battle. I do not love living in a cold climate now, but fleas are (knock on wood) non-existent here, and I'm eternally grateful.
ReplyDeleteSweet moves, Carolyn!
ReplyDeleteAnd you make simple cat lady techniques sound so spy-like!
I read your A.A. Milne write up regarding Austin and my sister and her children just love it.
Have a wonderful Sunday!
Huggies and Cheese,
Haopee
Just don't get any of that gunk on the red carpet!
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