Throw Back Thursday: The Box.
I’m sure I recently mentioned this, but years ago, Fred built this box with his own two hands.
In February of 2011, Miz Poo thought it was awesome.
Then Emmy gave birth in that box, and raised her kittens there until they could toddle out on their own.
I had to tape a strip of cardboard across the front so she’d stop pushing the bedding out of the box.
Her FACE.
And now, all these years later, that box is sitting in the back living room. We put it there to serve as a step up to the bay window (which is where the cat doors are), but once I put some beds in it, Archie claimed it as his own.
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Well, your thoughts and prayers regarding the closet-painting were much appreciated and yet DID NOTHIN’ FOR ME. We chose a can of paint from the cans left behind by the previous owners – and there were a lot – and while the dab of dried paint on the top looked very nice, in actuality:
Poop. It looks like poop.
Now, you might be saying to me “Robyn,” you are saying, “You are going to put litter boxes in that closet. If it’s the color of poop ALREADY, then you won’t have to worry so much about cleaning it.”
(Except that I know you are saying no such thing because that would be so very gross.)
Now, what I COULD have done is finish up that closet in that awful color, and then spent the next five to ten years thinking, every time I glanced into it, “Wow. I really hate the color of that closet so very, very much. What a terrible, stupid closet.”
But nay.
What I’m going to do is accompany Fred on his trip to Lowe’s this afternoon, whereupon we will choose a light silvery-gray paint – the good paint, that covers in one coat – and then I’ll be painting that stupid closet this weekend.
If you can bring yourself to look at that closet picture again, please note that I am having to paint AROUND those stupid closet shelf support things. I thought about removing them, painting the walls, and then having Fred put them back up, but they’re mounted using drywall screws, and pulling those out is a nightmare and a half.
So that’s the state of the foster room closet. In case you were wondering.
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Hanging out in my room with Newt and the Sheriff.
“I’ve done nothing wrong, but she still scares me.”
Alice, watching a chipmunk.
I’m fully aware that I’m supposed to hate chipmunks because they’re rodents and can do so much damage, etc, but GOOD LORD THEY ARE CUTE.
There’s been a lot of Frankie-and-Newt bonding going on lately, which is something I never expected to see.
Stefan nearly blends in to that butcher block counter top, doesn’t he?
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Previously
2017: The flattened boxes are always very popular with the cats, and you can see here that Joe Bob was irritated at having to wait his turn.
2016: “That ain’t FAT, lady, that’s BABIES.”
2015: No entry.
2014: No entry.
2013: I, personally, know that a cat is pregnant because someone tells me so.
2012: Everett’s got the grumpies.
2011: (Fred calls that “Robyn math”)
2010: COMPLAINTS? WE HAZ A FEW.
2009: No entry.
2008: No entry.
2007: No entry.
2006: No entry.
2005: No entry.
Oh, well, choosing the ideal shade of paint this weekend might be fun… Though not nearly as much fun as chipmunk watching!
I LOVE how Newt waits in silence for the Sheriff to pass by and then breaks the 4th wall and whispers, all wide-eyed, to us, “I’ve done nothing wrong, but she still scares me.” BRILLIANT, ROBYN! LOL
I, too, adore the crap out of chipmunks. They are TOO precious.
Frankie is all “Touchin’ yer butt!” to Newtles… who really does not seem to care, heh.
Every time you post a picture of teddybear Stefan looking so huggable, I am sad that I cannot reach right in and HUG AND KISS THE CRAP OUTTA HIM. (I would do the same with Archie but something tells me I might get the dishtowel treatment if I was too enthusiastic about it!)
Elizabeth Taylor had a chipmunk as a pet when she was a little girl, and I am still SO JEALOUS OF THAT FACT.
Archie would put up with a little hugging and kissing, but he reaches his limit very quickly, and then he gets kinda scary. 🙂
I feel your pain! I repainted my bathroom 3 times in a row trying to match the new tile (a faux marble look). Every color was off. When I finally found a good clerk at the paint store and showed him what I had used, he just shook his head and said “These colors are just making you mad, aren’t they?”, looked at my tile and went right to the correct color. I could have kissed him! 😀
I’m still so disappointed that the color turned out so dark! Fred chose a light gray color at Lowe’s this afternoon, fingers crossed that it looks okay. (And I’m not picky about this, I don’t care very much what the color in the closet is, I just… don’t want the color of poop!)
Question for Friday: Have you seen any cats (stray or otherwise) around your place since you moved? Just curious. I live in a small town, and there’s quite a few here — ferals as well as pet cats that owners allow outside. I feed the ferals, and have tamed a couple enough to TNR.
Stephen looks HUGE! Gorgoeous boy. And yep, chipmunks are adorable.
Poop closet aside, how are you liking your house? And [how] has the cat hierarchy shifted in your new digs?
So, what are you going to do with all the cans of poop paint?
Put it back in the garage, of course! 🙂
The picture of Newt and Kara looks like Honey I Shrunk the Sheriff!
HAHAHAHA Yes it does!
HA!
I love how cats do that stretching out of one paw to touch whomever is around. When mine do it to our dog he freaks out and will either jump up and run away or start grumbling/growling at them until they take their paw back. He is such a BRAT!
You should get the washable kids room paint for the closet – in case a cat decides to make a mess in there. Have fun painting.
Great idea!
Good idea!
Love the beach picture in your room. One you took I believe. Gorgeous.
Well regarding the painted closet, IF you kind of sponge paint it it could look like a burled wood effect (or maybe I am just wishfully thinking). It IS an ugly color but I would hate to waste money on more paint. However, I shouldn’t talk about anything regarding paint as most of my house is still painter’s white from 18 yrs ago when I moved in! I was never sure WHAT color to paint so I just didn’t.
Regarding the chipmunk, they ARE cute. You’ll have to decide whether it is Chip or Dale out there.
Aw Miz Poo in the box…she was so pretty. I agree about a washable paint for the litter box closet. Since odds are you will be washing that closet.
When I painted my bathroom, I picked a warm honey shade. Nope. When it was done it looked like the inside of a big paper bag. Four years later, still saying “I should repaint one of these days.”
Fred’s usually in charge of choosing paint colors, but he’s made a few mistakes. For one, we had a bedroom painted the color of Pepto Bismol in the house we lived in before Crooked Acres. For another, he chose a shade of paint that was the exact color of white Barbie doll skin for the upstairs bathroom (which was eventually painted purple), so his choices are not always spot-on – but they’re better than mine!
I love the picture of Newt—-look closely, there is absolute fear in those eyes!!!
The Sheriff is little, but she’s scary!
Hello Robyn and lovely readers!
Long time reader, first time commenter here, to ask for advice on cat introductions – I’m sorry this is so long. [Tl;dr: new cat suddenly ran and swiped at old cat after some progress in normal, slow cat introduction, old cat now hides every time she thinks new cat might be coming into the room. What do?]
Protagonists: resident Smallcat (6.5lbs), about eight and a half years old, and newcomer Floofcat (10lbs), about 3-4 years. Both are neutered, female, rescue indoor cats with no apparent interest in going outside.
We lost Smallcat’s colleague (they were never *friends*) just under a year ago and got Floofcat from a small rescue three weeks ago. Smallcat was wary but interested to start with, hissing and growling through a glass door when she could see Floofcat, but regularly sniffing behind the (solid) door to the spare room where Floofcat lives. Floofcat is let out in the rest of the house every day, with Smallcat in one room, so they get to sniff at areas where the other one has been. Floofcat is *very* motivated by food, so it was easy to keep her distracted when we eventually started to have them in the same room, a few minutes at a time. All was going well, with Smallcat expressing her displeasure from a safe distance and Floofcat asking for more treats. After about a week of the short visits Smallcat started even to turn her back and nonchalantly stretch and saunter away from Floofcat, who is always more interested in treats than in the other cat. Smallcat stayed very suspicious and a little worried though.
About five days ago, I wasn’t quick enough stuffing Floofcat’s face, or something, and she suddenly, with no warning, just ran at Smallcat who was minding her own business on the back of the sofa, and went straight into swiping at her. Smallcat hissed and growled and swiped back, and ran and hid as soon as I shooed Floofcat away. I couldn’t find any injuries after, which was good, and it mostly seemed that Floofcat just wanted to chase Smallcat away.
Since the Incident, Smallcat will still hiss at Floofcat, through the door, and will even eat where they can see each other through a glass door, but will slink off and hide behind the sofa as soon as Floofcat comes into the same room, or if she thinks I’m about to let Floofcat in.
How to proceed from here? I’m worried Smallcat will just keep hiding, no matter how many times Floofcat comes into the room and nothing happens – and there’s no guarantee there won’t be a repeat of the Incident at some point, which might then set all progress back, again. I don’t know what to do.
I’d love to be able to broker enough peace that the two cats can eventually be left home alone without being physically separated for their own safety. Smallcat has always been a real people-cat (she sends purrs), so her being chased into permanent hiding isn’t an option, either.
There are Feliways, both the new “Friends” and an original one plugged in, in theory well in excess to the size of the house.
Very grateful for any suggestions, or even just reassurance that carrying on the introduction sloooooowly would be the best way forward.
(and so many thanks to Robyn for keeping writing this blog, I’m always surprised how many years back I recognize the “Previously” topics!)
Quick reply: I think you’re doing fine, and I’d stick with the very slow introducing, but I’ll post this in tomorrow’s post and we’ll see if any good suggestions pop up!
Aw…Miz Poo!!
I love how Frankie-Pants has one paw stretched possessively over Newties, as though touching him will transport him magically to another dimension.
My husband loses it when he finds one of our cats on the counter. I LOVE Stefan stretched out on the counter. When you move sometimes there’s a realigning of loyalties among the cats. What was the name of color on that paint can so the rest of us don’t make your mistake??
So, did the previous owners leave you with any poop colored rooms? I suspect that once they tried that paint they decided not to use it but were too cheap to throw it out.
I have a question that maybe you or one of your groupies has an answer for.
Me: looking at the 38th anniversary of my 29th birthday. Wheelchair & oxygen dependent. SWF looking for my glasses in a one bedroom apartment.
Cat: Simon Shorthair. He’s a big ginger boy who thinks he’s a dog. He doesn’t like boxes or bags, just the crinkley brown paper that comes from Chewy. He was a stray found at McDonald’s (that’s a hint to the issue), neutered but you can’t hear him purr.
Issue: If you guessed weight at the first hint, you’d be right. He’s about 8yo,22#,tall,long and muscular (mostly). Vet wants him down to 16# by next January-yeah 2019.
Problem: Exercise. He doesn’t play. I’ve already cut his food down to ~1 Tbsp wet and ~1/4-1/2 cups per day. Feather teasers will be chased for 3 catches and on the 3rd he lays down with it and won’t go at it again unless you bop him in the nose with it. Red dot, pretty much the same. 3 strikes and out.
He’d never run on those new treadmills even though he’s semi-reactive to food.
I tried to get him to use stairs by putting a treat on each of the 4 steps. He just went along side and pawed them right in his kisser!
Sorry this is so long but please help me!