I'm sure that most cats must have a degree of waterproofing, or at least be showerproof, but Oliver Sprout's appears to have either been incorrectly applied, or have worn off in some way 
It is raining, which is not unusual in Devon, and both the boys have just come in. Digby has a dense (how apt) coat, with a beautifully silky top layer. He comes in with a sort of fine mist shimmering on his stripey fur.
Oliver Sprout, on the other hand, has a somewhat coarser coat, and comes in looking as if he has either been swimming of his own accord, or has been dunked by some psychotic passer by into at the very least a deep puddle, or more likely a pond.
He is SOAKED , fur sticking up in spikes, every inch of him absolutely saturated. The state of him bears no relation whatsoever to the amount or duration of rainfall. He steps daintily through the window and onto the small towel that is permanently on that section of the worktop directly beneath the window to absorb any water from paws, and presents himself ready for drying.
He has his own towel (a rather old one that has seen better days) and stands there while being given a good duffing up brisk rub down all over (including under the tummy and around the back legs, several pulls on the tail for good measure). He loves it. Digby does not like being wet, although in his case it is better described as "damp" or "moist" , but will not succumb to the towel, instead he performs an intricate pasa doble around ones legs in the hope of getting a "pick up cuddle". This achieves 2 things. Firstly, he gets cuddled (obviously). Secondly, there is an almost osmotic (probably the wrong word) transfer of the the delicate droplets of water from the cuddlee to the clothing of the cuddler.
I am at a complete loss as to how Oliver Sprout gets so wet. I believe that there are breeds of cat (Turkish Van?) that love water and will happily swim, but as research shows that they tend to be mainly white with the odd ginger bit, and himself is a sort of silverish tabby, I don't think that is the answer.
Does anyone else have a water absorbent sponge cat?
