Thursday, June 15, 2017

Cleaning Was Just the Beginning



My holidays are the time for chores. Putting the two together may seem incongruous, but my three weeks off are the only period when I have time for large-scale tasks that don’t take up all my available free time. I could spend several hours doing this or doing that on a Saturday, but that would occupy half or more of my day off. If I do them now, they use up the same amount of time, but the proportion remaining is much more consoling.

One of the big tasks of my holidays is cleaning the cat-trees. Out come the rubber gloves and the pail of water; up rises the smell of damp cat. Pounds of cat-hair are removed from cat-tree platforms, giving them an almost pristine appearance. It takes some effort and time but, as a friend told me, it beats using a thousand lint-rollers.

Then come the cats’ reactions. Their smells are gone. Substituted is the odour of bathed feline. Most of the beasts are equanimous about the cleaning. Renn, of course, does a great deal of sniffing – the prerogative of having such a big nose; Josie and Tucker don’t seem to mind; Parker doesn’t care.

Cammie is another matter. One of her favourite spots is the top platform of the taller cat-tree in the sitting room. Well, now something was wrong with it. All the carefully laid out hair was gone. The bits of dried food – she likes to take her dinners there – were missing. Worse than new, it was clean. She refused to use the top platform. She started squatting on the next lowest level, even though that too had been cleaned.

This was a bit worrisome, more so than it might seem, since, as I wrote, Cammie likes to eat her soft-food at the top of this cat-tree. She will eat it elsewhere, but that’s an iffy proposition. The best place to get her to consume the soft-food is where she no longer wished to go.

However, I have not lived with these confounding animals for ten years for nothing. I had earlier bought some cat-nip spray, to use on toys in an effort to interest the beasts in the more neglected items. The effects of this attempt were ephemeral. But they had an initial allure, so I sprayed a very small amount on the top level of the high cat-tree, while Cammie lurked grumpily immediately below.

It worked. Cammie has returned to the highest platform, and has resumed eating there. She doesn’t stay there as long as she used to, and has chosen other spots in which to lie. But she is no longer suspicious of her formerly favourite location. Her times there may increase as the cleanliness of the surfaces erodes.


The irony of this situation (there is usually irony with cats) is that one of the alternate locations the princess has chosen to reside is the cylinder-house cat-tree. She has resumed curling up in there after months of ignoring it. The irony is that the interior of the cylinder took me longer, and received more attention, than any other portion of any other cat-tree. But Cammie was the first to jump into it after its washing, and was apparently untroubled by any change in smell.

Did I mention that these animals were confounding?

14 comments:

  1. Haha good job on getting the tree cleaned. I love Cummies reaction.

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  2. Cammie's an enigma. I wonder why she was disturbed by the change in scent on the one, but not the other.

    Is this where I confess I don't clean the cat trees, other than with a lint brush occasionally or a rubber glove to pick up the cat hair? Oh, well, of course the very rare upchuck that ends up on one; that gets washed pronto.

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  3. It will be very interesting to see how the cleaning of the cat tree plays out. Good luck with Cammie' feeding.

    I guess I should be cleaning my cat tree as well as you clean yours (hangs head in shame).

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    1. Cammie has retained her fondness for the tall cat-tree but, due to the temporary distrust of that location, seems to have found other places she is enjoying. Meanwhile, both Renn and Parker are inhabiting the top of the tall cat-tree more than they ever did. I think the cleaning has opened the cats' eyes to other possibilities.

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  4. I have to clean Katie'a too!! What a bunch of fur. I too use rubber gloves. Inside her girl cave is next to impossible!

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  5. cammie...grate job on confuzin yur dad !!!!! 984 paws UP...N may we recommended a bottle oh eau de de flounder; itz a spray, comez in a bottle bout thiz high ___ N ya can use it on any sir fezz yur dadz "kleened" ta make it smell grate again !!!! they all sew haz lim burger cheeze N fried ham scentz ~~ ☺☺♥♥

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    1. That last one sounded good to me, too, until I realised it was LIMburger and not HAMburger...

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  6. I love Cammie's reaction to the clean cat tree. You're doing a great job of keeping your dad on his toes, Cammie. Keep up the good work! :-)

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  7. I have to admit that I never cleaned the cat trees as thoroughly as that. I would just hoover them so the familiar smell was still there, just not the extra padding. Flynn would ignore his blankets for a while when I washed them.

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  8. Oh Cammie, you're doing a great job of keeping John guessing. Well done!

    I'm a horrible cat mom, I vacuum the tree but must admit I've never scrubbed it. But I do complete the more onerous housework when I have more than a few days off from work. I'm too lazy most weekends, as I like to have a "day off" without too many tasks.

    Have a great weekend!
    Eileen

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  9. It feels good to do a thorough cleaning but I must admit I am quite lazy when it comes to cleaning. My excuse for infrequent vacuuming is that Holly is scared of the vacuum cleaner. I am sure The cats do appreciate having their tree cleaned - a new surface to cover with hair again!

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  10. I have been horrible about visiting lately and was glad to read that Renn is doing well and you figured out Parker's sugar varience. Cammie is one fickle little lady still :) Happy Cat Dad Day to you!
    Marty's Mom

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  11. That sounds like a good way to clean the trees.

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  12. She looks very happy in there. We are moving from the top floor of our house to the bottom. There is about 2.5 times the room but my sister had dogs. Even though it has been painted and floors re-done I wonder how the crew will react. I am going to start letting them come down to visit me during work hours this week. I say all this as I am sure there will be confounding a plenty

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