As soon as Thomas came to live with us, he had a strange fascination with the toilet. Whenever I would enter the bathroom, I could be sure that Thomas would be right on my heels. If I was just going in to wash my hands, he would quickly leave; he didn’t seem to like the idea of getting splashed with water. But, as soon as he heard the toilet seat he would be there.
In fact, Thomas was great company in the bathroom. He chatted to me, “Meow, meow!” and was always rubbing himself around my legs seeking attention. However, as soon as the toilet seat was vacated, Thomas would jump right up, place his paws precariously apart, and look downwards into the toilet bowl waiting for the flushing to begin. I always thought that was very funny for a cat that didn’t like to be splashed with water.
One fateful day, Thomas jumped up onto the toilet seat as usual. However, when the water was flushing, and for a reason I couldn’t understand, he suddenly slipped. Oops, I wasn’t able to save him! Down he went into the toilet bowl, head first. It all seemed to happen in slow motion. I saw his foot slip and his head disappearing. His tail was thrashing around in a weird way, it made me think of a cartoon character who turns his tail into a helicopter to get out of trouble. Well, unfortunately for Thomas, that wasn’t about to happen.
As he struggled to get a grip on the smooth, shiny side of the toilet bowl, I was able to get my hand underneath his tummy and pull him up. The whole of the front of his body was dripping with water. As I put him down he sneezed furiously, trying to clear his nose. As soon as the sneezing stopped, he ran out of the bathroom as fast as a bolt of lightning. He didn’t even stop in the bedroom; it was as if he wanted to get as far away from that toilet as possible! I eventually found him lying on the floor behind the couch in the sitting room. He was energetically licking himself, trying to get dry. Poor Thomas!
You’d think Thomas would be cured from looking down the toilet, wouldn’t you? Well, as you can see from the picture, he has changed how he looks down, but he’s still fascinated by the rushing stream of water that appears when you flush! I think Thomas really makes that old saying come true, “Curiosity killed the cat.” I’m very glad he has nine lives!
This is how Thomas now looks down the toilet. Smart change, Thomas!
