My rescue cat, Dodo, had a brush with some Tanglefoot while chasing a bird in a tree. If you’ve ever gotten this product on yourself, you’ll know what I mean when I say he was STICKY. (Tanglefoot is effectively used to stop ants from marching up tree trunks and hummingbird feeder posts.) I grabbed him away from his prey, meaning to give him a time-out in the house, discovering, too late, the Tanglefoot. Now there were two of us needing sticky-removal.

Faced with the dilemma of how to remove the offending product from Dodo before he tried to do it himself against the sofa, I searched my brain for remedies. What did my mother use when my sister put gum in my hair so long ago? Peanut butter? Oil? I grabbed the not-so-expensive olive oil from the cupboard, in case he decided to lick it off, as I clung desperately to a squirming cat.

He calmed down, as I knelt on the kitchen floor, backing him up between my knees. This manner of holding a cat is great when trying to administer meds, as the animal is cornered in this position. I then applied some oil with a paper towel. I rubbed, and nothing happened. I tried again. Nothing. Now I had a STICKY and OILY cat on my hands. His interest in the matter of being cleaned was rapidly dissipating, as it clearly did not involve food.

Clinging ever tighter to Dodo, I ran him to the bathroom and tossed him into the shower stall, slamming the door behind him. Ok, now what? By then, I needed a shower myself, so I striped out of my sticky, oily clothes and slipped into the stall with the cat. I knew this was risky, as there was now nothing between my tender skin and his sharp claws, should he attempt to climb his way out of the shower, using me as a tree. Therefore, I ignored him as I turned the water on.

I was amazed to see Dodo calmly sitting there! Before he changed his mind, I grabbed the dog shampoo and lathered him up. Still he remained calm! The moment of truth came, when I took the hand-held shower head and held it over the cat. Wow! Easy! That’s when it dawned on me, bathing a cat from above is the way to go. Dunk a cat, he’ll think you’re trying to drown him and fight like crazy. I’ve given 21 flea baths in the past few weeks to foster cats, and only was scratched by one, so I guess this method works. Note: I did not take them into a shower with me.