Conference misery::feline_v1

    Funny this note should be here!  What a fiasco this morning!
    
    My lovely kitty, Spunky, got some *hi* stuck on her tail, and she
    decided to get rid of it by skiiing on the carpet.  Good thing the
    carpet was cheap, cuz I had to throw it out.  And that didn't take
    care of it so on the bed she went.  Away I swept her to the bathroom
    (she HATED it).  Took me 15 minutes to get the you know what out
    of her fur.  I had to throw the wash cloth away (didn't have time
    to get a rag - had to grab the first thing).  No way she would let
    me give her a bath first thing in the morning!  Especially before
    her meal!!  
    
    Oh, well, I love her so it's okay.  But I warned her, next time
    I will throw her out!!  (That's a joke - I'm a softie)
    
    Anna/zildjian/spunky
    

    
    Gosh I know what you mean about the trouble!  T.C. is destroying
    the carpet by my bedroom door trying to get in.  In the past he's
    only done it when I was in the bedroom and locked him out.
    When I got home from work yesterday, he had torn a fairly good
    chuck out of it.  
    
    Mom's bedroom is like Disneyland for him ... all kind of goodies
    to get into.  I usually just close the door to the room when I'm
    not home so he can't destroy it.  I'm not sure which is worse,
    torn carpet or going on and earring hunt daily.  The little devil
    knows how to open my jewelry box and then proceeds to take all the
    treasures and hide them.  He also *loves* my nail polish bottles.
    

    Oh well, I guess I'll put up with it since I don't know what to
    do without him.  I'm hooked!
    
    Donna (T.C.'s mom)
    

    
    My kitty "Princess" who loves the outdoors, has also tried to dig
    her way out on a few occasions. My husband (who I thought would
    have had our heads) solved the problem. He installed a kitty door 
    in the cellar window. It's worked out great! She comes and goes
    as she pleases. 
    
    I realize that this would not benefit people who live in the "busy
    sections" but could be a solution to people in more secluded area's.
    
                "Princesses mom"
    
     
    

    Schnitzel is a "plant digger"!  I travel quite a bit for my job
    which Schnitz is not crazy about.  I have someone come in to feed
    her unless I'm gone for more than a few days, then I have a house
    and cat sitter come.
    
    I was gone for a few days last week and when I returned, lo an behold
    Schnitzel had rearranged the soil in several plants!  While I was
    picking up the pieces, she came around purring and rubbing against
    me, sat down looked at me and let out this incredible MEOW!!  I
    found myself appologizing to the cat!   But she knows I love her
    and will forgive her and repair the plants.....
    
    She also has a habbit of sitting inside my suitcase while I'm trying
    to pack.  I keep telling her, one of these days she'll end up getting
    "packed".....but it's the big, sad, green eyes that pull at my heart
    as she's sitting there as if to say, "don't go Mom...."  Can't imagine
    what it would be like if she were human (though sometimes I wonder
    if she really is).
    
    

    Re: .0 amd .3
    
    Yes, can't Georgie have a cat door?  My neighbors on each side have
    similar houses, with little ventilation type windows in the
    basement/crawl space.  They both leave the doors to the basement
    somewhat ajar and have pusses who use an open crawlspace window
    to get in and out.  Only works for non-plump cats....  Perhaps if
    you can't put a cat door in your real door, this is an option?
    

I gave up having plants, because my cats ripped them to pieces. When I 
hung the plants so that the cats couldn't reach them, the plants died; 
I think the cats stared them to death.

I have rearranged my whole house (with the exception of two rooms that 
always have closed doors) so that it would be safe for my cats. All my 
little pretty things are safely tucked away, so that cats cannot 
push/drop/shred/eat/break them.

I have taped down the tops of my aquariums, so that the cats cannot
knock them off. This makes extra work for me, when it is time for 
aquarium cleaning/maintenance.

I will soon have to patch the spots on the wallpaper where the cats, when 
they were younger, played rip-the-paper-from-the-wall.

I will eventually have to fill in the scratch marks on the windowsills 
where the cats like to sit and look out. No malice on the cats' part; 
their claws dig in to the wood when they jump up there.

I need to replace the window shades that the cats, when they were 
younger, ripped up. They liked to play hide-behind-the-window-shade-
and-jump-out-at-whoever-walks-by.

I just recently was able to untie the curtains in the living room,
since the cats finally outgrew the curtain-climbing stage. Previously,
I had the hanging part of the curtains tied in a big knot over the top
of the windows, and only untied them when company came over. 

I spend more money than I should on paper towels and toilet paper,
because the cats enjoy grabbing one end of the roll in their mouths,
and running. 

Etc.

Etc.

Etc.

But I don't mind. Those cats are my friends. The extra time/money/work
is worth it, for friends like those little furry-faced creatures.

Marleen

    Re: .3 and .5
    
    Thanks very much for the suggestions BUT...
    
    We don't have any windows that would be suitable to leave open as
    the little ones are quite high in the window and to get in Georgie
    would have to jump quite high (no problem!) and then come crashing
    in on my plants, flowers etc on the window sill!!
    
    As for the cat flap.  Yes, we've considered this but we only have
    one door and that is surrounded by a glass porch.  If we were very
    careful we might manage to get one into the glass but then he'd
    have to stay in the porch until he fancied going out again unless
    we put another one from there into the lounge...
                                                    
    Karen
    

    Re: .7
    Do I understand the setup, there's a "real" door between the bulk
    of the house and the porch, and then a door from the porch to outside?
     How about a cat door in the "real" door and leaving the porch door
    blocked slightly open at night?  Perhaps this is impossible because
    you couldn't shut off the porch heat or because there are valuables
    there....

    Re: .8
    
    Yes, there's a "real" door from the house to the porch.  Unfortunately,
    this is also made of glass (ie two glass panels divided by a strip
    of wood about six inches deep on which the handle is fixed).
    
    Another alternative which we thought of last night was putting a
    cat flap straight into the wall next to the front door so that he
    had direct access into the lounge.  But this would probably be a
    more major job as I think these things are made to fix to doors!
    
    Another alternative which a friend has also suggested is that we
    make him a little wooden "cat kennel" to put in a sheltered part
    of the garden...
    
    Karen
    (open_to_suggestions)
    
    PS  Fingers crossed!!!  We left him in today...
    

    Some friends of mine put thiers in a window and blocked up the extra
    room with pieces of wood like you would do with an air conditioner.
    It seems to work fine.
    
    					Geoff