Sometimes we have to do things we do not want to do.

Sometimes we have to do things we do not want to do.   Perhaps this is as it should be.

My cat has fleas.   Very badly.  I have tried 4 different products.   The most expensive one has never failed before.   It failed.

I finally picked up some flea shampoo.   I knew that this would be the final straw before I had to put down some real money for a vet.  

It was also my last choice because my cat is old and terrified of water.  

About 20 minutes ago, I tried to give her her 1st bath with the flea shampoo.   She is a big cat.  About 14 lbs.

I tried to keep her in the tub, holding her head and pushing backward when her claws tried to find purchase on the porcelain tub.  She was giving more of a fight than I have ever seen before in a cat.   At one point, I noticed my own heart laboring and sweat pouring off me just trying to keep her in the tub.

I got the shampoo on her, but I could not hold her still for 10 minutes.   That is what the bottle said.   I would like to see them try to hold a cat still in a bathtub for 10 minutes.  

I knew I was loosing the fight though.  She started breathing rapidly, a hoarseness cropped into her meows, and her breathing became labored and quicker and alarmingly erratic. 

I quickly shoved her under the tap again, trying to wash the shampoo off.   She was in total panic now.   Total.   She is almost 15 years old, and I thought she would have a heart attack then and there.

Finally, with most of the shampoo off, I could not, in good conscience, hold her any longer.  I was afraid for her life.   I let her launch herself out of the tub.

Chasing a wet and scared cat with a towel is something for people younger than myself.   I finally dried her up some.  I was exhausted.   I still am exhausted.

This is only a cat I realize.   However, it made me think about what parents must go through all the time with children.   They need shots, first aid, the occasional wound dressing.  Wow.  I have a whole new appreciation for parents doing things for their children that frighten them, or even send them into a panic.

I am truly humbled after this experience.   Parents Rock!