Much quieter this ayem, as Tam's off for a breakfast meeting; our paths will cross when she arrives back home as I rush out, hopefully on schedule.
I woke up to two cats, mine, sitting outside my bedroom door. They'd been fed, but were apparently irked at not receiving their proper morning ration of people. Though they both prefer to sleep on my desk (in the space once occupied by the boiler and pistons of a CRT monitor -- wasn't that how they worked?) , neither one can make the leap even with a step at the half-way level, so returning them to their perch requires human intervention. The usual first-shift cat-lifter having departed early, they were pretty insistent I get up and get on the job!
They've got you well trained, no? :P
ReplyDeleteJim
When the doxies got too old to make the leap up to the bed, my tough-as-nails dad built a ramp.
ReplyDeleteAll I ever got when things were tough was a "man up, nancy". ;)
My last new cat was 17 when I got her. After a year or so, it became difficult for her to jump up on my bed, so I made her a little set of stairs. That way she could get up onto my bed, and back down again when she needed to go.
ReplyDeleteWhen she turned 20, I made a step so she could get into and out of the litter box. It was carpeted, which had the added benefit of helping to keep cat litter from being tracked out of the back hall.
She made it to 21.
BoxStockRacer
At 19 and 20, my cats are overdue for having a set of stairs built to better enable desk access. Interestingly, both of them will hop right down from the desk and still land with some grace. Tommy can just barely make the leap from floor to carrier (call it 14") but the next one, 15" from a standing start, requires multiple false starts and the occasional failure. He prefers to get to the first level, put his paws on the desktop, and ask nicely: "Naoww?"
ReplyDeleteI was a rump-lifter for a 90-pound basset hound for many years. He believed that it was his job to keep the leather chairs in our living room warm, but couldn't launch his stout frame up into the seat. He was very good at his "job."
ReplyDeleteRoberta:
ReplyDeleteAt 19 and 20, you've got a couple of old friends. I envy you.
Cat is an incredible design. It works from the smallest African Desert Cat (less than three pounds, and about the size of your hand), to the biggest Siberian Tiger, which rumor tells can get up to 9 feet long and nudge 1000 pounds (can you imagine people ranging in size from 6 inches tall to 6 feet tall - what a concept . . . hmmmm . . .).
But Cat also has a tiny flaw which is also universal. They have a VERY weak pelvis which can break in old age just from hitting the ground at the wrong angle, especially if they hit a slippery surface when they land. Try to make sure they are not jumping down onto something slippery, like a wood or linoleum floor.
BoxStockRacer