Spoonerisms: The Furminator

Spoon sheds more than any cat I have ever known. It's crazy. Super-mega-fuzzy-50%-fur-by-volume Pandora didn't shed this much. I even asked the vet about it and she said it may be toward the edge of the bell curve, but it's not unheard of. It's not like he's going bald. Of course, because his fur is mostly white, and because there's also some quality to it that makes it stick to everything (it doesn't feel "sticky" -- it's actually quite satiny smooth to pet him), his fur is everywhere. I probably have a hairball stewing in my gut as I type, in fact.

A year or so ago, I bought a special brush called a Furminator, which is actually really good at grabbing all the loose fur from his coat before he leaves it elsewhere. Spoon doesn't exactly like it, though. In fact, he has a rather ambivalent reaction. He likes the attention and full-body rub aspect, but he doesn't actually like the feeling of the thing through his fur or across his skin. He doesn't fight it, but he'll generally end up standing up and walk a foot away from me or something like that.

Since I've gone back to work, though, he's willing to put up with a lot more just to get some snuggle time. And since it's also shedding season, I took the opportunity the other evening to do some major furminating when he got up on the couch with me and nestled in. That wad in the picture is from about 5 minutes of work (including short breaks while he re-arranged himself regularly, all while maintaining physical contact) and I didn't even get anywhere near his belly.