Oh god, cat COVERED in soot!

[CosmicOwl]

He managed to get behind the fire guard, I've given him a bath but don't have anything pet safe to use so just tried water, it hasn't come off!

Any tips?

Did he eventually return to his normal colour cozietoesie? I fear my little chap may be a little grey until he's malted the lot.

Oh Yes. It took years off my life though. I still carry the mental scars of the event.

(It took 4 (four) adults to do it in the kitchen sink.)

Well - three adults and me to be precise.

Mine got covered in fly paper as a kitten (the long stuff you have to unroll). Horrible, sticky stuff.

I looked online and ended up covering her in olive oil which picked up the gunk, then baby shampoo to wash off the oil. It worked. Wasn't a pleasant experience for either of us but it did get the gunk off.

Fly paper used to contain arsenic, I wonder if it still does.

Really? Hadn't heard that. Well, 6 years on she's as fit as a fiddle so I think we've got away with it, but I'll bear that in mind.

Yes indeed. Soaking them to obtain substances was part of the murderer's lexicon.

Sorry but those photos just made me laugh out loud. The sheepish look on his face and the paw prints all over the bath.

He's pretty much back to normal today, just a bit of a grubby face. He's sat curled on my knee so think he's forgiven me. The bath was filthy Toddlerteaplease!

@CosmicOwl I'm looking for a photo of a sooty white cat to share with a related haiku on social media and later in a book. Can I use yours?

I thought of the haiku after helping neighbors with their white cats because their house had been on fire. Thankfully, all pets were rescued, but obviously, I did not even think of taking pictures then.

Of course, I would credit you. ^^

@RuiChan, of course you can, and don't worry about crediting!

Unfortunately I have no idea where the original photo is saved, as I'd have sent a better quality image. Post a link to the Haiku at some point, would love to read

Feel I must add 5 years on he is bigger and fluffier than ever but thankfully no longer covered in soot.

@CosmicOwl Thanks a lot! I'll share the haiku tomorrow on social media and will add a link here then. ;)

Saturday was not such a good day, so I'll post next week after all. ^^;

@Fluffycloudland77

Fly paper used to contain arsenic, I wonder if it still does.

No, they don't contain Arsenic any more - it was the go-to method for obtaining Arsenic for anyone contemplating murder/suicide at the turn of the 19th/early 20th century (no signing registers, etc), so it was phased out. Mind you whatever they replaced it with wouldn't do a cat any favours, so you were right to get in with the olive oil.

Oh I forgot to add that a friend's cat did this. My friend moved into a new house with a real fireplace as a lovely feature. Once all the furniture was in, he went and picked up his cat from the person looking after it. He let the cat out of its carrier and it shot out, straight across the cream carpet and up the chimney.

A few seconds later, it dropped back into the hearth, bringing a load of soot with it. Carpet no longer cream, cat looked like a coal miner.

@CosmicOwl here's the link to the haiku.
www.instagram.com/p/CLgSSc5nfTW/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link

If you ever find the photo in HQ again, it would be awesome, but for now, I worked with the one you posted here. Thanks again! :D