I don't like to shop. It's not even the need for human food that gets me out of the house - we can live on cheese and peanut butter (used to be cereal and Pop Tarts but we're doing low carb...) I have to be running low on pet food or supplies to make the effort to leave the house. Panic sets in when the pantry looks bare - of their food.
I made one small change to make leaving easier. By putting Jack in the bedroom, I do not have to move litter boxes from the area in which he had been confined. I also do not have to move a heavy bed into that space. And, I don't have to worry about Dash and Jack having the ability to interact. It used to take me about twenty minutes to get everyone and thing situated - now it's less than a minute! Only took me five years to figure that out...
So, I was running low on litter for the rabbit's potty. Yes, she is litter box trained, unlike Chance. I also like to keep treats on hand for her. I needed cat litter and cases of canned cat food. The downside to shopping for all of these guys is everything I need is in sizes of at least twenty pounds. I ruined my back when I was loading and unloading fifty pound bales of hay and horse feed. The load is lighter these days, but still murder on my back. I walk in upright - walk out bent in half.
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| Going in |
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Coming out |
In spite of the pain, I felt accomplished. My car trunk was half full of stuff to keep everyone clean and fed for awhile. When I get home, Fancy and Finn are my bag checkers. They examine each bag, looking for something good to eat. I learned the hard way to put deli meat, sushi and anything containing meat or fish away immediately. Now, they are used to me bringing home treats of some sort. When I shop at Bark Avenue, I bring home cookies for Jack and Rooney and the chicken treats everybody likes. Yesterday, I was a bad Mom. There were no treats.
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| No treats!? How could you forget the treats? |
Finn gave up but Fancy went through each bag - a few times. He could not believe I would come home empty handed. When I finished unloading the food and supplies, even feeding the cats some of their favorite canned food, he was still unhappy. The moment I walked into the bedroom, he pushed past me and dove under the bed. My back hurt and I was tired, so I just closed the door and figured he would let me know when he was done pouting and ready to come out. I took some Ibuprofen, made a cup of tea and sat down to work on the computer.
Within a few minutes, I heard him cry, so I got up to open the door. As soon as I opened it, he blinked at me then went back under the bed again. I closed the door and went back to sit down. A few moments later, I heard him cry again; got up to let him out; he flew back under the bed. This went on for awhile. Until I lost it. I understood why he was doing it, I just wasn't willing to play along.
There are those who say cats aren't manipulative or vindictive. They are either stupid, clueless or don't live with a cat(s). Fancy was making me pay. I did not play by his rules, so he made up a game in which I was the loser. Or so he thought. I decided to play my own game. I got out the treat bag and shook it good. He was stuck in the room but could hear the sound of his favorite treats being dispensed to - everybody else but him! I used my best stage voice, too. "HERE EVERYBODY! COME GET SOME YUMMY TREATS! TOO BAD FANCY'S NOT HERE! OH WELL."
I counted down for the inevitable MOW-URH!!! Translation: "Hey! No Fair! Let me out of this stupid room! Please?" I opened the door and he flew out so fast he was just a black blur. He jumped up to the counter and looked at me with disgust. I said, "Are you done now?" His response, "Yes."
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| I'm still mad at you. |
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| And I don't want your dumb old treats anymore... |
Andy, you might want to stop reading at this point:
Dash hasn't been here long enough to figure out the connection between my shopping trips and goodies for them. But our little Dash is still a trickster. While I was putting groceries away, I heard the terrible sound of something hitting the tile. I was afraid to look. When I did, I saw it was my brand new phone - upside down on the floor. It had been charging on the counter and Dash decided it needed to be knocked down. I knew it was Dash because he was standing next to it admiring his handiwork. His look changed from satisfaction to uh-oh when he heard and saw my reaction. I held my breath when I picked it up, fully expecting it to be shattered. It was fine. Whew.
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| Here he is finding a new interest - the cord on the blinds |
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| Tired of that - On to the next thing |
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