Cat Gym
What do you do with four kittens when you are flooded in?
I had never seen that much rain and the water was coming up. I was on the highest point on the property and several feet off the ground. When you see two ducks float by your front window (I had to look down to see them.), you realize you have a problem. I was enjoying all the water birds that were coming so close. I could enjoy them. (One of the few benefits of the mess.) but it did not impress the cats.
There was just a little bit of the front yard above the water. I still had the front porch to go out on. However, for very young kittens who do not know what walk means, that is not enough space. Under normal circumstances, they would run from one end of the yard to the other, stopping only long enough to jump straight up in the air if they were about to collide with one another. They would play outside, but could not use up their energy. I felt so sorry for them.
Then, I got an idea. Why not build them a "gym" to help keep them occupied. I took my two wheeled cart and put it out in the middle of the room. They love to climb up on it anyway. They would scamper up it and into it. One loved to crouch under it before attacking another one as it wandered by.
I tied spools to strings and tied them to cabinet knobs on the ground level. Those are such fun to bat at. They were one of the less popular things to do as they tired of them quickly, but they had their place for a minute or two at a time.
Paper bags and boxes are always a hit with my felines so those were put about the room. One box turned out to be the favorite. I had it so they had to jump up and into it. They slept there often. Paper bags are fine places to climb in and "hide". Just don't put your hands around them if a cat is inside. They will attack.
The water stayed up for over a week. I think the only thing that kept us sane was all the things they had to do. There were times when I was getting rather jealous. I was getting tired of being cooped up and was ready to get out.
The water finally went down and they could roam outside again. I could reclaim the kitchen and living room, but, it is something I will never forget.
© Copyright 2006 Mary Ann Chidlow (UN: merian at Writing.Com). All rights reserved.
Mary Ann Chidlow has granted Writing.Com, its affiliates and syndicates non-exclusive rights to display this work.
I had never seen that much rain and the water was coming up. I was on the highest point on the property and several feet off the ground. When you see two ducks float by your front window (I had to look down to see them.), you realize you have a problem. I was enjoying all the water birds that were coming so close. I could enjoy them. (One of the few benefits of the mess.) but it did not impress the cats.
There was just a little bit of the front yard above the water. I still had the front porch to go out on. However, for very young kittens who do not know what walk means, that is not enough space. Under normal circumstances, they would run from one end of the yard to the other, stopping only long enough to jump straight up in the air if they were about to collide with one another. They would play outside, but could not use up their energy. I felt so sorry for them.
Then, I got an idea. Why not build them a "gym" to help keep them occupied. I took my two wheeled cart and put it out in the middle of the room. They love to climb up on it anyway. They would scamper up it and into it. One loved to crouch under it before attacking another one as it wandered by.
I tied spools to strings and tied them to cabinet knobs on the ground level. Those are such fun to bat at. They were one of the less popular things to do as they tired of them quickly, but they had their place for a minute or two at a time.
Paper bags and boxes are always a hit with my felines so those were put about the room. One box turned out to be the favorite. I had it so they had to jump up and into it. They slept there often. Paper bags are fine places to climb in and "hide". Just don't put your hands around them if a cat is inside. They will attack.
The water stayed up for over a week. I think the only thing that kept us sane was all the things they had to do. There were times when I was getting rather jealous. I was getting tired of being cooped up and was ready to get out.
The water finally went down and they could roam outside again. I could reclaim the kitchen and living room, but, it is something I will never forget.
© Copyright 2006 Mary Ann Chidlow (UN: merian at Writing.Com). All rights reserved.
Mary Ann Chidlow has granted Writing.Com, its affiliates and syndicates non-exclusive rights to display this work.
posted by Mary Ann Chidlow @ 9:13 PM
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