Thursday, March 3, 2016

A Return to Bath-time

Renn loved bath-time at the house. He would know what day of the week it was, and Saturday night, after we would watch a movie, he would wait by the door of the bathroom. Then, when I started running the water, he would come in, his back arched, his body wiggling, excited and happy. Why, I don’t know. He wasn’t going to have the bath. He wasn’t even going to get wet, and wouldn’t have liked it if he did. But he loved bath-time.

When we moved to the apartment, he lost his interest in the weekly event. This was natural, I suppose, if unexpected. For almost a month, he didn’t bother to come in to the bathroom when the water started pouring into the tub. He might wander in later, but evinced no special enthusiasm. This has changed.

My big boy once again loves bath-time. Though the pictures don’t show his exuberance, he now repeats his performance from the house, wriggling and twisting, turning and falling, delighted that I am having a bath. (I would blame it on a celebration that I am at last cleaning myself, but I actually have showers other nights of the week.) Renn simply enjoys the fact of the bath.


There is a complication in the new abode, however. In the house, I would bathe in the bathroom upstairs and shower in the shower-room’s stall downstairs. I liked the logic of that arrangement. Thus, whenever Renn saw me filling the tub, especially on Saturday nights, he knew what was in store. Now, the shower and bath are combined, and he has been confused when I run water preparatory to showering each night. He comes wobbling and dancing into the bathroom, only to turn away in some puzzlement at the drawn curtain and the swiftness of the whole procedure. But he doesn’t bear me or the bath-tub any ill will. He will come to understand the schedule, as he did in our previous residence.

In the meantime, I try to explain, and let Renn know each Saturday when it’s bath-time. So far, he has joined me for several weekends, purring his rough happiness. I have no clue as to why my big boy enjoys my baths so much. I just know that I like it when he does.

14 comments:

  1. Awww cute. Our old cat Puss LOVED rubbish night. As soon as she heard the rustle of the rubbish bag she would run purring to the front door. Mum then had to walk her down the stairs and they would have to do a slow walk round the cul de sac while puss ran ahead with her tail straight up purring like a motor mower.

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    1. Many of them seem to have their special events. Why it's special to them, who can say?

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  2. what a great ritual....funny boy :)

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  3. dood....fora wee minit...ya had uz scared... coz we thinked it was ewe act shoo a lee gettin a bathe....N lovin it.....phew.......close call !!! ♥♥♥

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  4. I really wonder what it is about bath time specifically that attracts him! My boys steer clear of running water (except for the water fountain), and neither Chum nor Annie had interest in my bathing rituals that I can recall, beyond the cursory.

    Renn is deep. Too deep for this puny human mind!

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  5. I'd love to know why Renn so enjoys seeing you take a bath. Is it a form of gloating? "Ha, ha, you poor human! You have to endure the horror of being bathed and I don't! Tee-hee!"

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  6. You're lucky you have only Renn supervising your bath. My Willow, Joey and Alex all come running as soon as I turn on the bath water. I'm not sure if they think they're lifeguards or if they just want to be sure I'm doing a thorough job. Willow also supervises how well I clean the tub afterwards.

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  7. Ralphie loves it when I get in the bath whether it is to shower or take a bath. He carries on and talks then places himself between the curtain and the liner. If I don't pull it closed he raises a ruckus until I do. Then he sits there and hold a conversation with me until I get done and he supervises teeth brushing time. Who knows......

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  8. They all have their strange rituals. I have often told of Eric's love of water. Whenever Ivor or myself were running a bath, he would be there. As soon as we were in he would jump on top of whoever had the misfortune to be bathing and start making biscuits. As you can imagine, this was not the most comfortable experience and it was a scrabble to grab the towel to cushion those claws before he got started. He preferred it to be Ivor as he likes to soak for a long time whereas I am more of a shower person. When he had finished his biscuit making, he would lie on the towel and go to sleep with his tail and very often some paws floating in the water.

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    1. Having a cat jump in the bath in incredible! What a character Eric was.

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  9. Being handicapped I use a shower bench. I suppose this make kind of a split between shower and bath as I am sitting but the water is spraying from a hand wand. Rumpy and Mr Buttons love this time and run in to watch. They will hop up on the bench and look at the water and stay until the time I pull the curtain closed to keep the wet inside. They return at the end hopping from on appliance to other making sure to get a bit wet and me coated with a few bits of fur. Great fun

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