Cat Proofing 101

October 6, 2010

Cats can get just about anywhere they want to go.  The places I wanted to keep free of kitty investigative reporting had to be cat-proofed. I put latches on all the doors at ground level so they could not be opened by head-butting them.  Squad Car learned very early the doors held shut by magnets can be opened very easily simply by head-butting them and standing back as the door opened slightly. She then inserted her tiny little paw into the opening and slipped into unexplored territory.  Of course, Roo thought she was living with a genius and followed right behind Squad Car into these new, intriguing dark spaces.  Latches soon put an end to the feline Stanley and Livingston's exploring.  They were not pleased and started looking for other ways to aggravate me. I had no doubt they would find many more ways to trouble me.

Any art materials I wanted to leave out had to be moved up near the ceiling out of jumping range.  After moving shelves, hooks, and hangers high enough to deter cat intrusion, the studio looks like a giant lives there.  Everything is a least six feet off the floor and can have no nearby "leap spots" that could serve as a launch pad for feline astronauts.  All my paper, pastels, chemicals, etc. are up in the clouds.  Even then, I still see the two explorers eyeballing these heights trying to figure out how to get up there.  After all, they have plenty of free time to scheme.

Before I forget, if any of you cat lovers have some good stories about cat-proofing or some strange place they got into, use the comments to share them.  Also, I need to get a business plug in here in case you need a website of your own.  I design websites for mostly artists, but I have done some commercial sites also.  If you want to see some cool examples of what goes into my websites, go to www.jolleysites.com and check out the various pages in the site.  Just pure fun and games.  Yes, I know "jolley" is misspelled, but the domain with the correct spelling was already taken and I think I like "jolley" better.

Enough for today.  I have to get back to painting as I have an art show coming up in Galveston, Texas on October 16 and 17.  Hope I sell lots of art.