I've no-one else to turn to and, in times of emergency such as this . . . well, that's when you need your friends.Let me be specific, what I really need is for you to talk to my Mum.
To give her her due, my Mum is usually very good at animal communication.
She was well-trained by the cats who came before me, and I've done my very best to keep up the good work. But, with all her good intentions, she does have one blind and deaf spot and, on this critical issue, her blindness and deafness know no bounds.
Believe it or not, she totally fails to understand a Snow Bengal's hereditary need for involvement with cold water.
Remember all that excitement in the winter? She was most sympathetic when I let her know that I wanted to dig my claws deep into the snow . . . and didn't I have fun.
But now, in mid-summer, with the temperature rising daily, can she understand my simple request to take a dip in the garden pond?
Not on your life?
I do my best . . . I sit on the side of the pool and look hopeful . . .
I clearly indicate where it is that I want to go . . . you'd think she'd understand . . .I even manage to get my nose down to just above the water level . . . but, look carefully . . . do you see that taut lead?
Before I get as much as a cooling drip of water on my chin, my Mum has given a firm tug to that lead and I've been hauled unceremoniously back to dry land . . . it's undignified, as well as frustrating.
As I'm sure you've noticed, every day the weather is getting hotter and hotter . . . not to mention stickier and stickier.Have you thought what it might be like to be wearing a fur coat under these conditions?
My Mum can put on summer clothes to keep cool, I can't!
And if she thinks she can keep my mind off the pond by offering the inadequate alternative of a dripping cold tap in the basin . . . well, she can just think again!
How could a feeble trickle between the paws ever compensate for the joy of total immersion?So . . . please . . . all I want is the opportunity to go for a quiet, undisturbed swim in a secluded garden pond.
Is that really asking too much . . . ?
Many purrs from your loving and ever-hopeful friend, Chloe.
