At around three months of age, Loki discovered water. Well, not "discovered" discovered, he'd been drinking it all along. He discovered that if he put his paw in the bowl, the water would slosh around. Even better with both paws in it. Best of all if he'd just come from the litter box with some hard clumping litter residue on his paws.

Then he decided that dropping a mouthful of dry food in the water bowl was a sport. He even got Thor to play.

I changed the water bowl and mopped the floor about six times a day. I also gave up on keeping a glass of water around. Finally, an idea managed to make its way through the Swiss cheese of my pre-Alzheimers mind. (Remember high school, giggling and laughing over how many brain cells that toke or chug just killed? It ain't so funny x-many years later when you start to miss those good old neurons!)

Where was I? Oh, yeah, water. If Loki liked the water, how about the bathtub? I filled it so just the front part was kitten-ankle deep.

Oh peace! Oh joy. Oh both kittens occupied for hours. And I didn't have to worry about them drowning like real human babies. Loki waded in the water and patted and splashed and had a good old time.

Thor sat on the edge, staring at his brother, occasionally letting loose with one of his deep, throaty meows that evidently meant, "That's WATER! Dude! We're cats!"

Loki didn't care. He even got a bath one day, courtesy of daddy Jason. So did Thor, which may have been a mistake, because it only made him not fear the water. Ever try to take a shower with a kitten inside the bathtub with you? It is odd to say the least.

I eventually bought them a set of rubber duckies. Okay, what the HELL has happened to rubber duckies? Remember them? Big bright yellow ducks that floated on the water. Holding them under and letting go to see how far up out of the water they would shoot? Well, after hitting almost every toy/baby store, Target and WalMart in town, I finally find a little set of three at the World Market of all places. Three little teeny tiny things dressed as a fireman, a police officer and something else that I can't remember.

They don't float. Well, they float, but either sideways or facedown. I'm glad they are for my flipping crazy kittens and not a child. It would cause a trauma, I'm sure.

West Ashley Water Cats. That's what we decided their breed must be. If not, it is now.