Monday, May 5, 2008

Keeping Kitty Comfy! Meet Butthead.

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It has been what seems to be ages since I last posted anything about cats. Based on last week's entries, I might as well have changed the title of my blog to Frequently Equine. Barbaro's birthday week was so important, since he made such a deep impression on me, leaving a huge hole in my heart. But now I am back to business as usual, and feel compelled to return to our wonderful felines, for the moment at least.

My friend Andy is owned by a beautiful white cat (with a touch of gray on the top of his head), who is affectionately referred to as Butthead. Andy described his fur as a "million per square inch and very thick". At the height of the shedding season, she finds it impossible to leave her house without "wearing at least half of him". So in order to help both Butthead (by keeping him cooler), and also to save her from leaving the house wearing an extra layer of fur, she takes out her trusty clipper to give him a shave and a haircut with the help of a friend.

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The process takes about 30 minutes. Butthead, a "great cat", often whines and complains while being subjected to his new coif, but never bites or claws. He probably knows by now that he will be a lot more comfy in the long run.

Andy does have to vacuum both herself and her friend when they are finished. I am sure that Butthead is not thrilled with the noisy vacuum monster. But he has heart and is very brave.

Butthead 
Butthead was clipped recently. Andy lives in New England where the early spring nights can get quite chilly,temperatures often reaching into the 30s. Since Andy does not want Butthead to catch a cold, she lavishes him with a little sweater to keep him warm.

Andy wrote a little more detail concerning Butthead's beautification, "These photos were taken about 2 months after his last hair cut last year. You can see we didn't do as good of a job. Now we really get closer and do more leaving a Mohawk We concentrate on his feet and a poof on the tip of his tail along with just his face so we don't clip any whiskers. Bailey Butthead Polar Bear is his nickname...Bailey was what he was given, but I call him Butthead, and everyone who meets him calls him Polar Bear due to his size. Butthead is around 8 years old now and is strictly an indoor cat."

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I just love the way cat "servants"  go out of their way to take care of their kitties. It is a testament to the strong love and bond that develops and grows as our relationship with them deepens.

Do you do any special things with your cats to keep them comfortable? Leave a comment and let us know.

8 comments:

Vicki said...

I think this is the first cat I have ever known to wear a sweater. ButI am glad to know that he is being kept warm, and loved by his family so much. I love his name too. Very Clever!

LA Nickers said...

Butthead? What a hilarious cat.

We adopted an abandoned barn kitty last fall. What a sweetie she has turned out to be.

LOST AND FOUND – adopting a barn kitten

Blessings,
Linda

PS: Thanks for adding THE MANE POINT to your blogroll!

zombywolf said...

We have a Lilac Point Siamese--10 1/2 years old, and once we tried to make him more comfortable with a sweater. We should have taken pictures--he acted like we had turned him into a pack mule. "what is this heavy thing you have put on me" he cried and slunked away at almost a complete belly crawl-- and then flattened himself out so that he somehow slithered (it was a rather snakelike maneuver)out of the neck of the sweater--shook his paws off as if he had touched something nasty and stalked out of the room. Needless to say we haven't tried another sweater.

Luvbarbaro said...

LOL!! I Love the nickname "Butthead"-- that is adorable!! I also like his pink sweater, but Reggie (my small dog) has some pink coats! :>) Butthead is very handsome!!

My Persian's get hair cuts once in a while and believe me, Butthead looks much more attractive than my Mozart after a hairdo!

My next cats will be Cornish Rex or a breed that doesn't require so much maintenance -- these long haired cats are beautiful, but definitely a lot of maintenance!! :>)

Anonymous said...

Butthead is a sweet boy though. Regardless of all his fur, he's one who loves attention and comes before Taylor as he's not as standbackish or one who weighs the situation. He dives in head first. LOL

You did a great job on it. (((())))

Elaine

Matt said...

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Unknown said...

I guess I'm the only person having trouble wrapping my head around this. I've had cats with a very thick coat before, ones who shed up a storm. Constant grooming (by me) was necessary, not just to keep from me having a hair-suit, but to keep the cat from having constant hairballs. It was years ago, but I seem to remember my vet giving me something for the kitty because the super-heavy-shedding was an indication of some deficiency. Maybe it was giving him fish-oil capsules? I really don't recall.

It never would have occurred to me to shave him for that reason, especially when I lived in a cool or cold climate. Butthead evidently wasn't real crazy about the process, either. Sorry if this sounds negative, but if the problem was that Butthead kept having skin or fur problems from his ultra-thick coat, then I could get it.

Rani

Anonymous said...

At breakfast time when I go to eat my breakfast bar, My cat hears the rustling sound pf my breakfast bar being opened from the other room. She darts over to me wanting a piece of my breafast bar. I then break off a piece to give to her and she purrs with satisfaction, as she curls up with my fuzzy fluffy blanket to sleep on that I was using but I let her have it anyway as I know that the breakfast bar and fuzzy fluffy blanket makes her purr with satisfaction.