Nothing Says Summer Like...

Nothing says summer in the USA like the smell of skunk, freshly discharged, wafting on the warm breeze. In Oman, we occasionally enjoyed the musk of fox, but it was always faint and could only be enjoyed while hiking in the mountains. To experience it required an intentional jaunt out into the hills. In the USA, though, skunkiness requires no effort. It simply comes, lingers, and moves on...most times.

My parents have an unloved black and white cat who is so despised that she has never even been given a proper name; she is just LK, short for Little Kitty. She drools, cries, eats, and poops--that is the grand sum of her existence, or was until tonight when she ran into the house, having recently angered a skunk enough to cause it to spray. Her. Directly. Unfortunately, the awareness that she had been sprayed didn't come until the cat had not only entered the house and run upstairs, but had also enjoyed a brief cuddle at the hands of my mother who is, as all know, a soft touch (and now a smelly one as well).

Between the cat and my mother (who was now covered in skunk goo, too) the house is eye-wateringly acrid. We put a pan of vinegar and cinamon on the stove to boil, which made the house smell of rotten Easter eggs, tried a boiling a pot of coffee, which merely added to the spoiled Easter breakfast effect, and then gave up, turning our collective attention on the cat.

Looking on the internet at http://www.ohmygodmycatstinks.com/ revealed that this sprayed cat phenomenon is fairly rare, since most cats are smart enough to avoid being sprayed, but when it does happen to the rare idiot you should douse your cat in something acidic, let it soak for five minutes, rinse, and repeat as necessary. We mixed a paste of baking soda, vinegar, and dish soap and smeared it on the cat, let her soak and--she still stank. Attempt number two: tomato juice.

VIDEO SOON TO FOLLOW HERE

This also required a soak, but the reality of inflicting this upon a cat does not allow for a soak cycle and so she went right to the rinse cycle. Really tomato juice wasn't too successful either.

OTHER VIDEO SOON TO FOLLOW HERE AS WELL

If you happen to run into us within the next week, please be kind, especially to my poor mother who must cook a church supper, supervise entering teachers, be seen at soccer camp with the kids, and attend a professional conference within the next week, all while smelling strongly of skunk. Yes, she would be the one who is covered in a dusting of perfumed powder with a strong overlay of skunky. She is already a little bit sensitive about the odor issue so just smile, nod, tell her you didn't notice anything at all and then move on.

And would anyone like a black and white cat?