Monday, August 18, 2008

Laundry Fay

No school in Dade, Broward and Monroe counties today and tomorrow due to Tropical Storm Fay. These would be the only enjoyable days of school teaching, if I were still doing that. Instead, I spent all day doing laundry (after having another blood test to find out why I get so cold all the time). Usually the kitties like to help. Spike really likes rolling all over the clean laundry while I try to fold it and as you can see, INKY enjoys monopolizing the basket so his poor Cinderella of a mother doesn't have to do yet another load. But today is a special laundry day. We got a new High Efficiency washing machine by Frigidaire. It's so fun and different. I know I don't get out much, but I couldn't resist shining the flashlight through the little window to spy on my clothes as they were tumbled around in the new machine. What does this have to do with cat behavior? Everything I do is controlled by cat behavior. I am constantly moving about and planning my day around the cats. If CC is not up on her perch atop the spiral kitty stairs...INKY is after her and I have to protect her. I throw in a load of laundry while INKY is taking a bath. I move the clean clothes into the bedroom while CC is hiding under the chair and INKY is mistakenly looking in the guest bedroom for her. I don't recall any scuffles today. I was busy preventing them. CC has been spending a lot of time in solitary (locked in guest bedroom) for her own safety and my peace of mind. Yesterday I found someone had sprayed a tiny bit on the plastic covering the bookshelves (because of new window installation) in the guest bedroom. I cleaned that up with Urine-off. And I switched the litterbox in there to a giant sterilite box. Someone was peeing over the edge of the old little(small) box. Cat owners: don't waste your time buying commercial litter boxes. Buy BIG sterilite boxes. They are roomy and don't absorb smells like the cheap litterboxes. Good news is, they are actually less expensive than most litterboxes. They just aren't as pretty. I know that will kill some of you people who live in museum like homes and obviously don't care that much about your cats well being. ME-OW!!
So, we have the same problem as usual: INKY spends most of his day hunting down CC and she in turn spends most of her time trying to hide. I just found a sweet new Champagne box from Total Wine that I want to give to CC to hide in. I'm looking for the best location for it. INKY already took it for a test sit. I really don't know what my next move should be with these 2. It's getting old again: desperately trying to keep them apart, yet still together. They don't get into real cat fights. Just a little hissing and smacking and running and yelling. No real fur flying usually. Are any behaviorists out there reading this??? Please help.

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