Saturdays I spend some time doing maintenance on the two fish tanks we
keep. The large tank is easier to take care of, because it has a more
stable ecosystem due to its size. The little tank requires weekly water
changes, though. That's exactly what I was doing when Fez decided to give
me a hand. Or a paw.
First he was fascinated by the magnetic glass cleaner that I use to remove
the algae that grows on the interior surfaces of the tank. He followed it
around and suggested the best way to move it around by pawing at my hand
when I was doing it wrong. I then started taking water out using a pitcher
and a bucket. Fez decided he needed to see if I was doing it right, so we
stood on his back paws and looked inside the tank. At this point I was
sure he was going to go for a swim, so I grabbed him and put him on the
bed, where he still could see all the action but had no risk of getting
wet. He complained loudly and proceeded to jump back to the space next to
the tank. He once again tried to show me how to do it, so I splashed him a
little bit in the face, to see if he'd realize it's wet down there and he
doesn't like wet. He looked at me and proceeded to lecture me at full
volume, telling me it was not ok to splash water on the kitten who is just
trying to help. :)

Victor M. Martinez
martiv@FAKE.che.utexas.edu
http://www.che.utexas.edu/~martiv