{"id":1010,"date":"2016-01-27T04:45:13","date_gmt":"2016-01-27T12:45:13","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.matilijapress.com\/catscapades\/?p=1010"},"modified":"2016-01-27T04:45:13","modified_gmt":"2016-01-27T12:45:13","slug":"wild-and-sometimes-crazy-wednesday-the-concessions-we-make-for-our-cats","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.matilijapress.com\/catscapades\/?p=1010","title":{"rendered":"Wild (and sometimes crazy) Wednesday&#8211;The Concessions We Make for our Cats!"},"content":{"rendered":"<div id=\"attachment_37\" style=\"width: 190px\" class=\"wp-caption alignleft\"><img aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-37\" decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" class=\"size-full wp-image-37\" src=\"http:\/\/www.matilijapress.com\/catscapades\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/03\/win-strawberry1.jpg\" alt=\"Winfield playing with a strawberry\" width=\"180\" height=\"181\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.matilijapress.com\/catscapades\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/03\/win-strawberry1.jpg 180w, https:\/\/www.matilijapress.com\/catscapades\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/03\/win-strawberry1-150x150.jpg 150w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 180px) 100vw, 180px\" \/><p id=\"caption-attachment-37\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Winfield playing with a strawberry<\/p><\/div>\n<p>I\u2019ve begun to realize that cats come with baggage. Think about it, have you ever had a cat for which you didn\u2019t have to make concessions? At the very least you\u2019ve indulged them, made compromises, and, in some cases, surrendered something\u2014your comfort as kitty sits in your lap while you type; your peace of mind as you worry about a health issue or behavioral issues; an area of your home where their bed, cat tree, toys now clutter; your dreams or having a pristine, odor-free home; your favorite chair\u2026<\/p>\n<p>How many of you have installed a kitty door for cats who insist on visiting the out of doors, built a cat tree or rearranged your furniture altogether to accommodate a cat? You\u2019ve probably lost sleep over a cat\u2014because she\u2019s nocturnal and wants to play all night, she\u2019s ill and you\u2019re worried, or she\u2019s taking up too much space on your bed. Some cats interfere with their person\u2019s meals. Some kitties are more passionate about food than others and simply demand bites of your macaroni and cheese, chicken sandwich, morning egg meal, etc.<\/p>\n<p>Remember when you used to vacuum once a week and wear your favorite black slacks? <img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" class=\"alignleft size-medium wp-image-125\" src=\"http:\/\/www.matilijapress.com\/catscapades\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/08\/lily-piano-225x300.jpg\" alt=\"lily-piano\" width=\"225\" height=\"300\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.matilijapress.com\/catscapades\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/08\/lily-piano-225x300.jpg 225w, https:\/\/www.matilijapress.com\/catscapades\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/08\/lily-piano-375x500.jpg 375w, https:\/\/www.matilijapress.com\/catscapades\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/08\/lily-piano.jpg 540w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 225px) 100vw, 225px\" \/>That quickly changes once you add a cat to the household.<\/p>\n<p>Different cats have different demands. So if you\u2019ve been kind enough to adopt siblings or you\u2019ve collected cats for whatever reason, you might be faced with a variety of challenges. Some of the cats eat plants while others claw furniture. While one cat darts for the door every time anyone opens it, others might chew the cords off your pull blinds. Yes, I had a cat who did that. A neighbor has a cat who eats rubber bands and plastic or rubber cords, such as those that connect the components of her computer.<\/p>\n<p>We have installed kitty perches on window sills for our cats, we\u2019ve done away with all<\/p>\n<div id=\"attachment_171\" style=\"width: 235px\" class=\"wp-caption alignright\"><img aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-171\" decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-171\" src=\"http:\/\/www.matilijapress.com\/catscapades\/wp-content\/uploads\/2010\/03\/lilyadamvirginia-053-225x300.jpg\" alt=\"Lily Has Spring Fever\" width=\"225\" height=\"300\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.matilijapress.com\/catscapades\/wp-content\/uploads\/2010\/03\/lilyadamvirginia-053-225x300.jpg 225w, https:\/\/www.matilijapress.com\/catscapades\/wp-content\/uploads\/2010\/03\/lilyadamvirginia-053-375x500.jpg 375w, https:\/\/www.matilijapress.com\/catscapades\/wp-content\/uploads\/2010\/03\/lilyadamvirginia-053.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 225px) 100vw, 225px\" \/><p id=\"caption-attachment-171\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Lily Has Spring Fever<\/p><\/div>\n<p>ribbon and bows in our home because we have a cat who eats them\u2014dangerous! We bought a water fountain for Lily because she loves drinking running water and we didn\u2019t want her drinking from the bathtub after we had a softwater unit installed. I no longer enjoy a bouquet of flowers in my home. I don\u2019t think I need to explain. If I do cut a particularly beautiful rose, I carry the vase with me from room to room so I can keep an eye on it. We\u2019ve made a cover for my keyboard from a box lid off. I don\u2019t think I need to explain the reason for that, either. And we use only valances at our windows\u2014and blinds, of course. No more drapes. I never leave a hanger where a cat can get it. Yes, a coat hanger. I know of a kitten who got caught up in one and strangled. And I had a cat swallow a needle once. Thankfully, she survived once we realized what had happened and the vet removed it.<\/p>\n<div id=\"attachment_180\" style=\"width: 310px\" class=\"wp-caption alignleft\"><img aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-180\" decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-180\" src=\"http:\/\/www.matilijapress.com\/catscapades\/wp-content\/uploads\/2010\/04\/easter2010-022-300x225.jpg\" alt=\"The Party is Over\" width=\"300\" height=\"225\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.matilijapress.com\/catscapades\/wp-content\/uploads\/2010\/04\/easter2010-022-300x225.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.matilijapress.com\/catscapades\/wp-content\/uploads\/2010\/04\/easter2010-022-500x375.jpg 500w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\" \/><p id=\"caption-attachment-180\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">The Party is Over<\/p><\/div>\n<p>It\u2019s interesting how these concessions we make become a part of our life. We take them for granted. We\u2019re surprised when women guests ask why we put their purse in a closet\u2014duh, because the cat steals things. Oh yes, and I caution my overnight guests not to leave a glass of water next to their bed, unless they plan to close the door with the cats on the outside. Lily will drink from any vessel if it is wide enough for her cute little face. Winfield, however, could drink water from any glass because he drank with his paw\u2014dip it in, lick the water off; dip it in, lick the water off.<\/p>\n<p>There are as many ways we accommodate cats as there are cats. My readers (and I) would love to hear some of your stories. <a href=\"mailto:PLFry620@yahoo.com\" target=\"_blank\">PLFry620@yahoo.com<\/a>. Or leave a comment here.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>I\u2019ve begun to realize that cats come with baggage. Think about it, have you ever had a cat for which you didn\u2019t have to make concessions? At the very least you\u2019ve indulged them, made compromises, and, in some cases, surrendered &hellip; <a href=\"https:\/\/www.matilijapress.com\/catscapades\/?p=1010\">Continue reading <span class=\"meta-nav\">&rarr;<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[5],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.matilijapress.com\/catscapades\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1010"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.matilijapress.com\/catscapades\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.matilijapress.com\/catscapades\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.matilijapress.com\/catscapades\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.matilijapress.com\/catscapades\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=1010"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.matilijapress.com\/catscapades\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1010\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1011,"href":"https:\/\/www.matilijapress.com\/catscapades\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1010\/revisions\/1011"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.matilijapress.com\/catscapades\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=1010"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.matilijapress.com\/catscapades\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=1010"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.matilijapress.com\/catscapades\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=1010"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}