Only Cat in the Doghouse

For almost a year our two Siamese cats have only seen New Jersey from inside the walls of our colonial house. There was the time Kristi squeezed out the second-floor bathroom screen and clung for dear life on the porch overhang...but it was brief. A few weeks ago it was Belle's turn to view life on the outside. She developed a weird smell on her fur that transferred itself to the freshly washed sheets of Elizabeth and Caroline. So I decided it was finally time for a visit to the friendly vet. My neighbor Hank told me to go to Hopewell Veterinary Group. I bundled her in her pet carrier and away we went. She was terrified from the first; the terror mounted on first sniff at the vet's. They always smell like dog and of course they are always filled with dogs. I sat down with a petrified, growling cat and saw that I was surrounded by a bull mastiff, Cavalier King Charles spaniel, a mutt and a little rugrat whose breed I couldn't identify. Every few minutes the bull mastiff would snuffle the carrier until finally, Belle snapped. I couldn't see what she was doing inside but the whole carrier jumped off the seat and settled back on its side. Everyone looked at me and the mastiff's owner pulled him back and explained that "the kitty doesn't want to play." I felt like a party pooper and was relieved to hear my name called.
We never figured out the cause of that smell, the vet and I. All he had to do was collect my $20 and tell me to give her a bath. Easy for him to say. Have you ever bathed a cat? That's a whole other story.