Lightening her load

Every summer I have a list of things to accomplish, tasks that I put off during the school year since I have time off in the summer. Every summer I tell myself I will not do this next year, won't subject myself to dental cleanings, oil changes, frig cleanings and other things better done as the need arises rather than packed into the beautiful Seattle summer.

One of today's tasks was to brush the cat. This one I have actually done periodically this past year, so it doesn't technically qualify as a dreaded summer task, but I have been out of town for 10 days. 10 days of hot summer weather, before which there wasn't a cat brushing, during which there wasn't even much of a cat sighting, probably. Petting her today, my hand was lost in a sea of discarded fur. So I got out the brush, and spent about 10 minutes alternately pinning her down and pulling her off the comb.

I could have gotten much, much more off of her had I been willing to put up with some scratching and attitude, but I decided that when the ball of fur on the floor exceeds the circumference of the animal being groomed, you can officially call the job complete, regardless of the amount of loose fur remaining.