Poor kitty, I hope he got home safe

Treats can be a very good incentive. Also, most big cats actually like water, ALOT. House cats on the other hand, you better be wearing full body armor when you bathe.

Doesn't answer the question of how she mistook it for a house cat

It's a joke, obviously. As much as I hate it, that animal is probably a pet, given it has been declawed and the person it bathing it without protective gloves.

More likely it's a rescue animal at a zoo or some such and has been hand-reared since infancy, so it's relatively tame.