The Cat House

Today I made a cat house instead of reading about renaissance art and architecture.

I went to the grocery store hungry today and ended up buying approximately half the store. In a moment of decadence, I bought two kinds of cookies and three kinds of meat. As I pushed my cart towards the cash register, it became clear that I would have to have my smorgasbord delivered because there was no way I could carry it all home. Of course I never really intended to carry my groceries home, because I knew I would go a little overboard today. I think I should also note here that I spent enough that I got two free heads of broccoli.

The groceries were delivered while I was making some soda bread, so my hands were all sticky and I couldn't unpack them right away. When I eventually did get around to unpacking them, Mr. Claws and Pistache, my roommates cats, excitedly helped me, hoping to get a bit of salami, cheese, or whatever else they could grab while I had the fridge door open. Mr. Claws then decided to sit in the empty box. Sitting up straight with a look of superiority, it was clear the box was no longer mine. Just for kicks, I picked up Pistache and put him in as well. The two-cats-in-a-box plan lasted less than 2 minutes before Mr. Claws evacuated leaving Pistache alone with a look of smug self satisfaction. Sometimes the two tolerate each other, but mostly they argue and let their annoyance with each other be generally known.

This gave me an idea, and later that day I took out a giant knife from the kitchen and went into our little library. Here I stabbed and sawed at the big cardboard box. I managed to make a normal cat sized door and a Pistache-Legros-sized entrance that can be open and closed. Feeling creative, I cut out windows and holes at different heights and of different shapes and sizes. Since I am perhaps one of the clumsiest, unluckiest people still alive, it is truly a miracle that I did not cut off a finger, let alone fatally stab myself. To make the cat house homier, I put an old folded towel in the back, then hung some strings from the ceiling and placed some toys inside.

I managed to lure Mr. Claws in with a cat toy tied to a string, and he figured out the purpose of the cat house pretty quick, whereas Pistache was confused and only entered when clearly given the enticement of cat treats.

My roommates seem fairly pleased with my project, and we have plans to decorate both the inside and outside of the cat house and perhaps even add another level (for Mr. Claws only).