I forgot to mention that last night, Sarah and I were bathing our three cats. In the beginning stages of bathing the first cat (Ninja), it somehow occurred to Sarah that she had read somewhere that it is easier to bath a cat if you put it in a bucket, because cats like to grip the rim of the bucket for security. This seemed, to me, to be something I had heard before as well, so I agreed to try it. After all, Ninja was freaking out a bit (normal for wet cats in large ceramic tubs), and maybe it would make the process easier.

In the future I will trust my natural talent for understanding and predicting the behavior of cats. (Reason # 468 why reading is dumb.)

Sarah arrived with the 5-gal bucket and placed it in the tub. I liften Ninja from his cowering huddle in the corner of the tub (where I had a firm and immobilizing grasp on him) and lowered him towards the tub. He flipped out, flailing all over the place. In the process, he snagged my right nostril from the inside...and poked his razor-sharp, scyth-shaped claw straight through to the other side. All I could say was, "Don't laugh--help!" Turns out Sarah didn't laugh (so she says), but she did remove the claw from my nose. And she was genuinely concerned afterwards.

Ninja still got his bath, but it wasn't in the bucket. And he was actually quite subdued after the initial trauma.

Coincidentally, this is the second time Ninja has gotten his claws stuck in my face. The first happened several years ago, when he freaked out over some dog when I was holding him. He grabbed my cheeks for security...and stuck there. I removed him myself that time, and the damage wasn't that bad.

Ninja's actually a very good and loving cat. The most loving cat I've ever known. Really, he is.