April 30, 2007
Belle, how could you?
Belle - Look at that face! Is that not the face of an innocent lil' girl kitty? That is our Belle, a relatively quiet calico who spends much of the day avoiding the smaller children. Could that innocent face really drive Michelle to want to strangle her?
Yes.
Yes she could.
Last fall we had a contractor do a bunch of odds and ends around the house. The trim was painted, some new interior moldings were added, some halls were painted, the old, torn vinyl screens on our porch were replaced with new aluminum screens, etc. I don't know the full bill, and frankly don't want to know. It took care of a lot of minor repairs that I didn't want to spend weekends doing.
Fast forward to this weekend. Michelle has been giving the cats a little more freedom regarding going outside. They always stand near the doors ready to bolt if given an opportunity. Since our previous cats were indoor/outdoor cats, Michelle is giving up on trying to keep our current pair as strictly indoor cats.
As I mentioned earlier, on Friday a shed was built to hold the kids' bikes, scooters, and our lawn & snow equipment. Saturday morning we went out back to put the stuff inside and pick up debris from the assembly. Somewhere in the middle of our shed work, Belle decided she had enough of being outside and was determined to come back in.
She had spent a good deal of time on the recent warmer winter days in the screened in porch getting some fresh air. She decided to try to jump into the porch from the outside. Unfortunately her claws dug in and ripped a few holes in the screen.
Michelle was beside herself with frustration. She knew that replacing that screen would be expensive. She tried various techniques at repair. She brainstormed on how this might be prevented in the future (besides euthanasia). She was afraid to tell me what had happened for fear that I'd blow my top.
Strangely I just sighed. If a cat had knocked my laptop on the ground and ruined it, I might have a little more emotional investment. But it's a screen. I didn't have high expectations of them lasting. Personally I thought it would have been a kid that would have damaged them. Belle just did what came instinctually.