Ch8 - Mr. Cat Taking His First Bath

Then Mr. Cat got into trouble

Editor: Vez 

One characteristic of Sparta was stubbornness. Once he decides upon something, no matter how difficult it is, he will accomplish his goal. After his mother passed away, he learned to catch mice and sparrows by relying on this characteristic. He wanted to enter cat school just to better understand his human and take care of his aunt’s inheritance. For Miwu, he would never give up!

No sooner said than done. After Sparta bid goodbye to Mr. Jay, he bore into his secret base and flipped through the handbook given to him by Mochi. He did not know how educated cats did it. The study handbook looked very much like a normal human book that Sparta had seen in Miwu’s room. However, the cat manual was very thin and small, making it easy to carry between his teeth. The bookbinding looked very sloppily done, like the pages would scatter at any rough handling. It appeared as if the cat makers did not have the intention to use more durable materials to make it last. After all, all cats have a natural knack of tearing books. 

Sparta lay upright, his injured left paw carefully tucked under him as he used the tip of his right paw to slowly turn the page. The study manual for preschool was specially prepared for illiterate kittens, so there was no cryptic content. The simple diagrams painted on the page could be easily understood. Sparta studied carefully and flipped through the entire handbook without missing a page. He got a basic sense of what the handbook was trying to have him do, but the pictures were so huddled up that Sparta’s whiskers twitched as he pondered, but he still could not figure them out. Instead of continuing to rack his brain over this, he decided to climb out of his hideout to rehydrate and calm down. After licking a few tongues full, he sat down and sternly cleaned his face.

At this time, Xin Qin had finished his game. He also came downstairs to get some water. When he saw Sparta, he beckoned, “Come here, let me see your paw.” 

Sparta, who had just washed his face, did not want to listen, but Miwu seemed to be calling him persistently. Alas, he yawned whilst moving slowly and came to halt before the human. Miaow—he made a deeper call than usual. 

We’re sorry for MTLers or people who like using reading mode, but our translations keep getting stolen by aggregators so we’re going to bring back the copy protection. If you need to MTL please retype the gibberish parts.

Xin Qin was amused by the Dragon Li cat. This fellow had a reluctant face. He rubbed the other’s fluffy head and whispered to him, “Show me your paw. I want to check on your wound.” This time, Xin Qin did not intend to wait for Sparta’s consent and directly grabbed the cat’s inflamed left paw. 

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It was said that the ancestors of domestic cats lived in desert areas and their fur did not evolve to be waterproof, so the vast majority of cats do not like water and did not like their fur getting wet. Most cats oppose bathing unless they get used to the idea from a young age. It takes great time and effort for the owner to bathe their cat, but Xin Qin did not intend to wash Sparta himself. 

For one thing, he had no experience and was afraid of hurting the cat. Second, there were no bathing supplies for cats at home, so it was not convenient. Because of these, the pet beauty salon was his best choice. They could also do nail trimming and grooming for his Dragon Li cat. The cat carrier bag he purchased for Sparta had been shipped via express delivery. It was delivered early today and could be put to good use now. 

The next morning, Xin Qin prepared to take Sparta for his bath. Before departing, to cease his worries, he took photos of Sparta’s paw and sent them to Dr. Dai at Eat Plenty to confirm whether bathing Sparta was fine or not. After getting the doctor’s confirmation, he began to prepare for Sparta’s first bathing trip. At this time, Sparta, who was unaware of his impending fate, was scratching his head and ears at not being able to comprehend the tasks listed on the handbook and was thinking of asking Mr. Jay at the next progress checkup about them. 

Xin Qin changed into casual clothes and went downstairs to find Sparta nestled in his simple cardboard cat bed that Xin Qin had made. The carton was not large, but it was the perfect size for Sparta to curl up into a ball. The cat squinted his eyes, drifting off to sleep. When he heard the human’s footsteps, his ears twitched while he slowly opened his eyes. Miwu. He greeted his human with a soft whisper.  

“Let’s go out.” Xin Qin put down the cat carrier bag. 

Sparta leaned over and sniffed but found no special smell. He raised his head and meowed at the human again. 

Xin Qin stretched out his hand and squeezed the back of the Dragon Li cat’s neck. Excluding the last time at the clinic, this would be the first time Sparta ventured out with him. He was not absolutely sure that the cat would listen to him. He spent more than ten minutes patting Sparta and placating his mood. To be honest, he had little experience in petting cats. Coffee was an independent cat and did not require human companionship. But from the effect, it seemed he was doing a decent job. The Dragon Li cat looked so comfortable that his limbs went soft and a soothing purr came from its throat. 

He chuckled and reached out to grab the cat. The Dragon Li cat opened his eyes as the tip of his tail quivered in question. Glancing at Xin Qin, who put him in front of the wide opened bag facing him. Sparta curiously approached and sniffed around, hesitating towards the large opening. It seemed that the narrow space was very attractive to the cat.  

Xin Qin was not in a hurry and patiently waited for Sparta to not resist his urge to get into the bag. Once the cat did so, he patted the cat. He wanted Sparta to associate this bag with relaxed and happy feelings, so that he could take Sparta out to play in the future. This whole process took about ten minutes. The cat coiled his body, lying in the bag. Feeling so comfortable that he closed his eyes, as if he had adapted to this new bed. He tilted his head and licked Xin Qin’s fingers lazily to show his gratitude. 

Xin Qin carefully zipped up the bag’s opening. As soon as the zipper jiggled, Sparta let out an uneasy yelp. Xin Qin looked through the bag’s mesh opening to make sure Sparta could see himself and smell him. “We will be there in a minute. You could take a short nap.”

Sparta unblinkingly fixed his eyes at Xin Qin. After confirming that he was still safe, he stopped his yowl. He did not know what the human planned to do, but he trusted Miwu not to hurt him. He licked his paws again and began to feel sleepy. When Sparta woke up again, he found his surroundings and himself were swinging. He gave an unsettling cry, to which the human immediately responded by rubbing at the bag’s small opening. Sparta turned his body and stretched out his neck forward to sniff. It was Miwu. He soon quieted down again. 

The pet beauty salon Xin Qin was heading to was not far from their home, only a ten minute walk. He once brought Coffee there and had a good impression of their service. Sparta put his nose close to the bag’s opening and his eyes widened by the passing street view. Soon, they arrived at the beauty salon. The moment they entered the shop, Sparta sneezed.  

Meow, this place smells so strange. 

Xin Qin filled out the basic form at the reception desk. Although he was keen to accompany Sparta throughout the session, the beautician advised him not to be present, otherwise the cat would be less cooperative. He could only bid goodbye to Sparta, deciding to wait at home after learning that the bath would take an hour.  

Miwu—Sparta could not help crying out for him when he saw Xin Qin getting further and further away. 

Xin Qin turned back and waved at Sparta. He knew the Dragon Li cat would not understand, but he patiently said goodbye and promised to pick him up in an hour.  

Sparta looked puzzled as Xin Qin disappeared completely out of his sight. Before he could decide whether to follow, he was quickly picked up by a pair of unfamiliar hands. The other party’s posture was stiff, which brought Sparta great discomfort. He began to struggle with all his limbs in an attempt to escape. Soon, someone took over. The new human was stronger, grabbing the back of Sparta’s neck and soon subduing the Dragon Li cat. Even Xin Qin never handled him so roughly, which made him angry. He growled and extended his claws. However, the other party obviously came prepared. In a group of two, they wrapped Sparta firmly in a towel and brought him into a room. 

Miwu—Sparta called out in vain, hoping that his human could hear his call for help and come back to save him. 

Sadly, Xin Qin was too far away to hear the Dragon Li cat’s mournful call. At the moment, Xin Qin was still worrying at the bottom of his heart, but thinking that cats did not like bathing very much and he would just get in those professionals’ way. He decided that once he got home, he would order Sparta a can as a reward.

Sparta was practically twisted by the back of his neck as he climbed onto the cold operation table, his waist and hind limbs were being held down, making it impossible for him to exert his strength. He kept emitting threatening snarls and whizzes. He heard the humans were having a conversation, but he could not understand them which further increased his rage. He realised he could not free himself with brute force, so he forced himself to relax and stopped trying to resist. His enemies will drop their guards, he just needs to wait for that opportunity.  

He fooled the humans very quickly as they began to relax their vigilance and brought Sparta into a smooth sink. One of the humans left and grabbed the hose. The moment water gushed out, Sparta used the opportunity to put force on his hind legs. With a push, his body leapt forward, drawing a beautiful arc in the air. Although his movements were as fast as lighting, his back was still sprayed by the water, causing him to lose his balance in midair. 

Fortunately, he was used to jumping, so he quickly made adjustments, and even took into account his revenge. The sink was slippery so Sparta could not jump to his highest without the full friction during launching, but the distance was enough for him to swiftly scratch the human who held his neck earlier with his claws. He did not hold back at all. As soon as he clawed at his target, a scream of pain followed behind. The human bent over in pain and covered his face as scarlet blood dripped out from the gaps between his fingers. Sparta took this opportunity to break free. Another human rushed to his co-worker’s aid, but he was too slow. With a hiss, Sparta stepped on the other’s shoulder to leap off again. 

He finally escaped from the encirclement after a few jumps. Others also hurried to help out. For a moment, there was a panic and the whole beauty salon was in an uproar. Sparta let out a loud cry, darting gracefully back and forth and dodging countless incoming hands. Finding a perfect chance, he disappeared from the crowd.