Catfish

by Lisa Dovichi

It's a known fact that cats hate water.

Right?

Well, mostly, but there is always an exception to the rule. And then there was Mr. FlufferNutters. A twenty-three pound Maine Coon who didn't just like water. He lurved it.

You could not run water. Period.

That cat would streak through sprinklers; hop into a shower; cannonball into a bath; pounce into a sink; jump into the washer; kamikaze dive into a toilet. If it was a container filled with water, Mr. FlufferNutters would find some way to contort and fit his massive body into it. I kid you not, it was a match of speed to use the toilet. Sometimes we'd win and sometimes we'd be knocking on the neighbors' doors to use theirs. Trust me when I tell you that you never want to make a twenty-three pound fluff ball of teeth and claws angry by trying to remove him from his water.

He could and would share if the water source was big enough. There were many a baths interrupted when he'd come in from outside and realize where I was. There's nothing like eau de cat bathwater to make you go for a shower afterwards, let me tell you. And nothing like the looks on neighbors' faces when you show up at their door wrapped in a towel, asking to use their shower. You did NOT drain the tub before his majesty was ready.

If we hadn't already built Mr. FlufferNutters a rep with all the trips to the neighbors he'd really have gained infamy when a neighbor tried to chase him off his lawn with a garden hose. The disbelief on the neighbor's face when Mr. FlufferNutters stopped, dropped, and rolled around under the deluge of water, purring, was priceless. The cul-de-sac still reminisces about that to this day.

It was theorized that maybe Mr. FlufferNutters thought he was a catfish. It's hard to say what went on in that kooky cat's head but I know one thing. He was the best cat I'd ever had and even now, when I take a relaxing soak in the tub with candles and a good book I miss the heavy thudding of his paws as he ran hell bent across the tiles to launch his mass into the tub and have a relaxing soak too.

Lisa lives in Livermore, CA with her husband, three children, and Jack the Beta fish. She works from home as an artist and web designer. In her dwindling spare time she changes diapers, experiments with food, crochets, and watches bad movies on Monday night with her husband. To get more Lisa visit: www.meltingbeforeyoureyes.blogspot.com.