The cat's lost portal.

last year

Seven odd years ago we had to open a hole in the hall bathroom floor, and although we mostly closed it there was a narrow slot that the cat could squeeze down in between two joists and walk around. We kept her out for the longest time, but she eventually outwitted us and we let her go down into that joist space at her leisure. When we remodeled the bathroom she became distraught that her tunnel disappeared so we built her another one in between two rooms.

When we started the remodel downstairs and the same joist space became accessible she was thrilled. Since my carpenter will sometimes come and put up a sheet or two of drywall and call it a day, this spot from one direction or other has been open for at least a year. The access kept getting smaller and smaller but she could still get in there.

Yesterday a piece of drywall went up that closed the access again. She discovered sometime last night that it was closed off. (Loudly). And periodically today she has been trying to figure out if she can find another way back in.

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palimpsest
Original Author

last year

Oh she has her choice of cardboard boxes. She sleeps in one in the basement. She also sleeps in a tupperware bin in the basement, and several hidden areas on the third floor. She makes the rounds. The ceiling was apparently the place for her to really get away, because she could go from the opening to the farther end of the joist space which was about 18 feet.

If we don't know exactly where she is, we play a recording of kittens meowing and eventually she shows up.

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Comments (22)

mtnrdredux_gw
last year
Aww, don't you wish you could read her thought bubble?
Ally De
last year
Aw. Poor girl. Can't you leave a hole in some obscure place...?

( I may have issues with giving pets almost whatever they want, as long as it's not harmful.... 😊)
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palimpsest
Original Author
last year
She is actually pretty verbal about what she's thinking. She's not angry, but she's thrown off and upset and wants it back. She's using her desperate voice, the same one she uses when you are trying to ignore her and she thinks it's because you are too dumb to understand what she wants you to do.
palimpsest
Original Author
last year
last modified: last year
She already has a tunnel that goes from the hall bathroom behind the bathtub, and into a closet with a little door to get out of the closet.

We thought about leaving her another small space somewhere but the tunnel we built for her is accessible to us (and lined with Formica). We don't want her to be able to get into a spot she has trouble getting out of. She was already a little afraid to jump back out of this one sometimes. Eventually she will forget.
blfenton
last year
Hahahahaha. That is so funny. Poor thing. I bet you could design her a faux-hole that looks like a feature..
Jilly
last year
I love her. ❤️

Those pictures are so darn cute.
lucillle
last year
As a consolation gift, get her an empty cardboard box. Maybe tape it up and cut a hole in one side.
morz8 - Washington Coast
last year
Could she be distracted by one of the activity toys made specifically for cats? Chewy and Amazon carry cat mazes and tunnels. I don't know if it would satisfy her but it would be hers, dark and mysterious, but safe. Possibly not to your decorating taste ;)
dedtired
last year
How funny, yet kind of touching. I lived with a hole in the screen door for 18 years so the cat could come and go as she pleased. What we do for our pets.
Jilly
last year
Reading this as I make up tonight’s beds for the neighbor’s cats.
maire_cate
last year
She's seeking her magical land of Narnia.....with adventurous fantasies and mythic creatures.
maddielee
last year
Poor kitty. But very funny.
nekotish
last year
She seems very determined - I wonder what is so attractive to her down there? This is coming from someone who referes to our walk-in closet as "Charlie's bedroom." A few years ago during a particularly bad thunderstorm, our dog hunkered down in our closet. I felt bad so put an old towel down for him so he didn't have to lay on the hardwood. Fast forward a couple of weeks and I moved his bed in there as apparently that was now his bedroom. My DH just shakes his head.
cawaps
last year
She's using her desperate voice, the same one she uses when you are trying to ignore her and she thinks it's because you are too dumb to understand what she wants you to do.

LOL. I know that voice.
Ally De
last year
Nekotish, both my dogs sleep in very cushy beds in my walk in closet. I think of it as their small bedroom. 😆
deegw
last year
I love the second pic. "Human! Human! There is currently a situation happening that you need to remedy!".
roarah
last year
clever and adorable!
nicole___
last year
So sweeeeeeeeeeeet! She's well loved. Black cats are so pretty!
Funkyart
last year
A friend just shared this photo from his basement remodel.. they've created a cat space under the stairs (as well as a wine cellar).
Bestyears
last year
last modified: last year
I've mentioned before that my daughter is a PM for a high-end residential renovation firm. She took me to a job site this past week -an historic home, undergoing a $2M renovation- and my favorite part: they're putting in a built-in cat tunnel so the cats can go from floor to floor that way! Only the exits and entry points are visible.
Annie Deighnaugh
last year
last modified: last year
Pal on the Kitchen Table on the Smiles thread, dedtired posted this and I immediately thought of this thread..

The cat's lost portal.

palimpsest
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mtnrdredux_gw

Ally De

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