Minka is bald. But at her age, are we surprised? I was considering Rogaine (now for felines!), but decided against it on logistical grounds.

No, so really, she is bald – except a stupid mane, fluffy feet, and the most pathetic attempt at a poof on the end of her tail. As the swampish summer here in DC set it, she began to leave a trail of hair behind her everywhere she went. She was drinking a ton of water and just laying around, which is all fine by me, except then I started sneezing.

I talked to a groomer who 30 minutes later was her sheerer, who explain that when it comes to pets “It’s DC in the summer, you just have to shave them.” She is now cool and frolicking around and demanding a lot more attention, generally unaware of people’s discomfort with her sitting on their faces.

As for the shaving, she didn’t take to the process kindly. Think collar/head/funnel thing and lots of people gathering around the window to see the psycho kitty play jujitsu with the clippers. At the end of it all, I kindly told the groomer that he “was brave.” He talked to me for 5 minutes about his grooming philosophy and what he called his “respect for the creature.” Okay, not that brave.