From: tom@vexcel.com (Tom Baltzer)
Subject: Re: Help!  How to get car oil off my kitty
Organization: VEXCEL Corporation, Boulder CO
Distribution: usa,na
Date: Fri, 6 Nov 1992 18:01:05 GMT

In article <1992Nov5.184951.2160@zia.aoc.nrao.edu> rmilner@zia.aoc.nrao.edu (Ruth Milner) writes:
>In article <1992Nov4.230728.5327@vexcel.com>, tom@vexcel.com (Tom Baltzer) writes:
>> As a result on one of her outdoor romps last night she decided to get
>> a bunch of car oil on her back.  
>> Does anybody out there know of a way to get the oil off her 
>
>There is no way to do it without A Bath. Even if you got something that could
>remove the oil by just wiping, you'd want to wash that off her afterwards!
>
>I read on this group recently that the people who had to clean all those
>birds in Alaska after the oil spill used Dawn dishwashing detergent. It
>supposedly worked very well. I expect you'll still have to do a bit of
>scrubbing, though. Pity she probably won't associate the worst bath of her 
>life with the oil - it might have taught her a lesson. :-)

Thanks, that seems like the best idea.  We gave her a sponge bath that 
seemed to work fairly well but didn't seem to get deep enough into her
fur.  We'll try the Dawn.

>
>In article <1992Nov5.023635.1@stsci.edu> lhuffman@stsci.edu writes:
>>Let's see...  cold, cars, toxic oil. How about keeping her inside?
>
>Yes, now there's an *excellent* way to get the oil off her fur!

Indeed this is true, however, she has been an outdoor cat for all of her
near 2 years, and enjoys the outdoors immensly.  I absolutely refuse to 
take that away from her, knowing quite well that she has a greater probability
of dieing at a young age, and although I don't feel I need to explain 
myself to the net, I will anyway.  

My mom and I had four cats when I still lived with her.  We lived in a
very rural part of Colorado and they were very much outdoor cats, 
(in fact Segfried would often disappear for weeks, coming back to
have a bite to eat and some companionship with us and his brother and 
sisters)  We all lived a marvelous existence together and they were 
very happy cats.  After I left home, Mom moved a few miles down the
road, (still quite rural), and decided that she wanted to put out
bird feeders, and the like, and that it would be quite unfair to
allow the cats out, (she also had some concern about dogs, as if they
didn't exist 3 miles up the road).  Well the cats became miserable,
listless, fat, fighting, spraying and all in all VERY unhappy), 
Segfried used to have a fire in his eyes that is now dulled and nearly 
gone, (he by the way adjusted the best of all four interestingly enough).
Now when I visit Mom, I see four fat and unhappy cats desperate for 
attention, and an incredably stenchfull house.  They've pretty much
given up on the idea that they can escape, so now they just sit and look
longingly out the window. Yes the cats are alive and well (physically), 
but their mental well being is lost, and it makes me very, very sad.   
I will not do that to Zerbina, no way no how.  She loves the outdoors, 
and is quite aware of cars and people and knows how to deal with them.  
If she dies at a younger age as a result so be it.  At least I know that 
she lived the happiest existence that I could give her, (she was found as a 
kitten stray on campus, appears that some student thought that she could be 
kept in the dorms, and then abandonded her.  My statement about the warmth 
of the car was an assumption, and may have been entirely incorrect as she 
has never done this before.  

>
>This *may* be a good idea in general, but it isn't going to help after the 
>fact. Do we have to seize every opportunity to preach our private gospel?

I apologise for doing just that, but that is my belief on pets, I think that
it's fine to keep a cat indoors, if the cat will always be an indoor
cat, and has not expressed a great desire to go outdoors.  But once a cat
has been an outdoor cat, and desires that form of existence, it is 
IMHO cruel and unusual, (and a little bit selfish), to take that away from them.

>-- 
>Ruth Milner                          NRAO/VLA                  Socorro NM
>Computing Division Head      rmilner@zia.aoc.nrao.edu

Thanks to all who responded, she has by the way been out many more times
since I originally posted, and has not picked up any more oil so I doubt
that this will be a general trend.

Tom.