Everyone deserves a little pampering now and then — even Julius, our resident umbrella cockatoo. He’s loud, proud, and usually convinced the world revolves around him. So, when “spa day” rolled around, we figured he’d love it. After all, who wouldn’t want a warm mist bath and a good feather fluff?

Well… Julius, apparently.

The moment he saw the spray bottle, his eyes widened like he’d just spotted a villain in a superhero movie. He gave a suspicious little squawk, fluffed up his crest, and leaned back like, “I don’t recall signing up for this.” We tried explaining that every bird needs a little help keeping their feathers clean and shiny — but Julius was already preparing his defense case. Once the first mist hit his feathers, he froze, gave me that “how dare you” look, and began muttering under his breath. If you’ve never been scolded by an umbrella cockatoo, imagine being yelled at in bird gibberish with the emotional intensity of a Shakespearean actor. It’s dramatic.

About halfway through, though, his attitude started to soften. The warm water was actually kind of nice, and once we brought out the towel for gentle drying, he leaned into it like he was finally starting to remember that he is royalty. Still, he made sure we knew we were on thin ice. Every fluff of his feathers came with a side-eye that said, “I’ll allow it… this time.” By the end of the session, Julius looked incredible — white feathers gleaming, crest perfectly fluffed, and wings spread proudly like a freshly polished cloud. But if you asked him how it went, he’d probably tell you it was “deeply inconvenient.”

He strutted off afterward, mumbling under his breath in classic Julius fashion, clearly torn between being offended and secretly enjoying how good he looked. And honestly, that’s just Julius. He might not admit it, but he loves the attention. Around here, every creature — whether they bark, purr, or squawk — deserves to look and feel their best. Even if they protest the entire time.