These cats have the run of the house and they do not seem to appreciate their good life. Just last week they went through a whole box of fish snacks that they managed to knock off the shelf. And they regularly climb into the drawers and root out edibles from the human snack box. You know, cookies, bread, candies, crackers. And some cat found Choco's jerky snacks (kept in a heavy glass sealed jar) and pushed the jar off the shelf, not breaking the jar but getting the lid off so that he could eat ALL the jerky (and make himself sick).
Of course I cannot leave a bit of food on the counters or stove or the cats will be up there eating human food, and of course when we are eating and set food out on the tables someone has to guard the food until we sit down to eat.
This morning they did the pushing the jar off the shelf trick again and knocked the large Tupperware container of cat food onto the floor and pried it open spilling cat food all over the floor. Hmm. That's why none of the cats were up early this morning meowing and batting me in the face to wake me up so that I would feed them. And before they got the Tupperware lid off, they must have had a fit of frustration and decided to rip the cat sand package apart first. So there was cat food and cat sand all spread around the room. To wake up to that scene put me in a very bad mood and I snapped at Tetsu about why he hadn't wised up to putting cat food and cat sand in the proper place (the dryer) since he knew the cats did this. (He was the one who had brought all the stuff in from the car.)
But of course, I am just as annoyed at myself because I could have remembered to do the same thing and didn't. And the garbage can gets knocked over every morning because the cats have explored the innards during the night. And no. We don't have a door to our kitchen so there is no way to keep the cats out of that room.
And every morning and evening when Cleo gets locked in the bathroom so that he will leave Velvet in peace, he starts in doing his sculpting and whittling. Maybe we can sell his boards as cat art. Tetsu had nailed boards up to keep Cleo from destroying the door so now he only destroys the boards. With his teeth. It looks like we are going to go through a board every two months. Or Cleo is going to go through his teeth. So along with the cat food and cat sand I have last night's wood chips to vacuum up too. My vacuum cleaner is getting a workout.
And I have only myself to blame for taking in these feline freeloaders. So why am I complaining? I seriously thought about opening the front door and just letting them outside and they can tear up the forest or eat frogs or something.Dang it all. Now I've got to apologize to Tetsu. He lets me keep all these animals so I've no right to get annoyed with him when I'm angry at them...
16 comments:
Sounds like a frustrating start to the day. I know my cat wont hop over a solid baby gate as it has no idea how far or what it might land on when it comes down on the other side... Don't know if it'd work for you, but I've found it a helpful tool for containing my critters...
What a day!! You deserve a HUGE hug.
=====> BIG HUG <=====
Mimi
I have a cat that can't stand to be on the other side of a closed door. She will shred carpet. So, I've cut plastic carpet runners and slipped them under the door. We've also put up a screen door on our bedroom. I know this sounds really strange, but that way our older cat can have peace and quiet in the bedroom and Murphy is content to just look through the screen and not claw anything. What we do for these cats even has me thinking we're nuts. Oh yes, and Mikey can't stand to see anything on the one kitchen counter. He pushes anything left there onto the floor...a cup of coffee, a casserole dish, etc. And we just recently took in yet another homeless one. See why I worry about myself? I can relate to your bad day. It's kind of like having a two year old all over again. Tomorrow is another day.
I'm sorry that your furry friends have been so naughty! If it is any consolation, mine are naughty too...they have recently destroyed the carpeting in front of my bedroom door by scratching at the floor to let me know they want in to my room. GRRR. It is a good thing I love them so much.
I must have had strange cats, but ours spent each night in their carriers, so did my dogs. We started doing that after a middle of the night Tornado evacuation and I couldn't find my dog. I decided from then on they would sleep in their carriers so I could jump and run if needed. The cats never fussed much.
What a terrible start to the day!!! Have to say they are pretty clever cats though and they probably think its their house not yours!!!
Oh, my! They are a handful, aren't they? I can't help but think of the photo you posted of them all peacefully curled up on one chair together... that's why you keep them!
All of a sudden my cats antics pale in comparison...
Hope tomorrow is a better day...
okay, you've made me decide that being allergic to cats is a blessing, not a curse.
Sigh, maybe they're just tired of the very long winter we're all having? Even if they don't go outdoors, they're probably tired of the winter landscape (as am I!) I'm sure Tetsu has bad days as well so I wouldn't worry too much!
Lurking Linda
In the States, de-clawing is an option that some people choose to prevent this kind of problem. It's a controversial topic, though. Putting linolium up around the door might help. Or metal!
Hi Tanya!
I feel spoiled. Our two house cats only claw the scratching post and the front door mat. The worst thing they've knocked down is a fish bowl that was on my daughter's dresser, and Lizzy has a 'thing' for glasses or vases of water---she simply must knock them over!
One thing we have done to discourage bad behavior is the squirt bottle. They hate it, especially set on 'stream.' We actually spent a few days setting them up or laying in wait for them to do what they weren't supposed to and then *SQUIRT!!* and a loud "NO!" and they got the message. They still jump on beds and the couches, but no scratching the couch and no jumping on counters and tables.
Hope the rest of the day is better!
Chesty is bad about getting into stuff too -- so much so that when we're not at home, he has to go in his kennel. Luckily for us, he can't jump up on counters and he's pretty short...we just have to remember to put our food and drink up where he can't reach it if we get up.
Just because we love them doesn't me we can't get annoyed !
Wow... worse than two year olds, because a two year old will grow out of it! :) I agree with Annette, you might try to curb their unwanted behavior. There's a sticky tape product you can put up on walls and furniture that you don't want them to claw, they don't like their paws to stick to it. And a squirting water bottle for jumping up on counters and tables works really well. Two year olds need shaping! :)
Good luck...
If I say that Molly doesn't get on the counters and doesn't eat any food we haven't specifically given to her, it would sound like bragging. It's true, though. She doesn't raid food and doesn't tear anything up. I might have to check and make sure she isn't a robot cat.
Wow, you have some wild cats! I can't leave anything out on the kitchen counter, that's for sure, and if I leave anything else out around the house, I can count on Rembrandt playing with it. I used to put my earrings on this little glass dish right when I got home from work, but she found the dish, even after I moved it to a very high spot, and I lost one each of two sets of earrings before I had to give up on that little practice.
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