Tuesday, September 15, 2009

Alaska Bound

The king size, denim duvet that I inherited along with a dog and a cat and a few other household items when I teamed-up with the Boss was a bit annoying to clean; consequently, it didn’t get cleaned very often. Too large for an upright washing machine, the only way to clean it was to haul it to the laundry mat and pay four or five dollars to wash it in a massive, front loading washing machine. I didn’t like paying that much money to rent a washing machine for 30 minutes. I enjoyed the time spent inside the laundry mat even less. That option is looking better and better now that I will spend $30 on dry cleaning the new comforter after the Cat left her mark on the corner of the bed this morning.


Yes, our resident feline sped up her departure to Alaska considerably this morning after the children ran into the room and informed me that there was a kitty sausage on the corner of the bed. What in her F. silvestris catus brain caused her to plop and piddle on the corner of my bed is beyond me, when a perfectly accessible litter box was ten feet down the hall. She managed to leak through the bedspread, one blanket, one top sheet, and one bottom sheet. The mattress cover and mattress remained dry. That is the only reason why she is still alive to go to Alaska.

On Thursday.

So, the stripped down bed sits waiting for a second set of clean sheets in less than twenty-four hours and the pile of dirty laundry doubled in size in less than twenty-four hours because last night was the night that Captain Chaos decided that she needed to throw up. In my bed. I have no idea why my bed is the preferable target for the contents of her stomach when she has a perfectly suitable bed of her own to puke on. My bed seems to be the collecting point for all manner of bodily fluids, animal or human. I’m heading out to Nancy’s House of Naughty this afternoon to purchase rubber sheets before any other creatures show me fluids that I am of yet unaware. I’m thinking that a hose and a squeegee will be a cheaper and easier method for washing bed linens.

This cat was owned by Dr. Tim, a friend of mine who worked in Kansas City before selling his house, giving away all of his earthly possessions, and moving to Arizona. He gave us a huge and very comfortable couch, a TV, DVD player, a desk and chair, some kitchen utensils, and “Baby” (an animal rescue cat with perhaps the world’s most stupid name) because they wouldn’t fit in his BMW convertible. We kept everything except the cat, which went on to Randy’s house where she was promptly renamed “Boo” due to the fact that she scared so easily. Boo lived with Randy for a couple of years until he married Shayna. They decided that combining her three cats and one dog with Randy’s one cat, one dog, and two fish was too much. We received Boo and the two fish. During this time Dr. Tim moved from his digs in Arizona to new digs in Alaska. When he heard that his old cat was available he decided to take her back. Whether she will remain “Boo” or revert to “Baby” or become “Bear Meat” is beyond me, as long as it is Dr. Tim’s house when she next decides to duke on the bedding.

When it rains it pours. I just wish it was water coming down.

Post Script


The nice lady at the dry cleaners told me that dry cleaning cannot get cat doody out of a comforter. The “Dry Clean Only” bedspread needed to be laundered. I asked her how it would turn out. She told me, “Pretty good.” So, I took the “Dry Clean Only” bedspread to the Laundromat for a $4 cleaning. It smells pretty clean, too.

Post Post Script

Guess what one of the dogs did on the classroom floor while I was out this afternoon?

8 comments:

Teacher Mommy said...

Is she a cat or a hot potato?

Oh look. I'm leaving a comment on your blog. Amazing. It's such a nice thing to do, leaving comments. Don't you think?

CrossView said...

Cat urine is the most distinctive of all and the main reason we don't have cats. Just to cheer you up, I'll tell you that I have thrown away items that have been washed numerous times WITH BLEACH because the scent of cat urine never left. I vote for buying a new comforter AFTER said kitty goes home to be bear food. Oh! You're welcome! ;o)

Kathleen said...

"Guess what one of the dogs did on the classroom floor while I was out this afternoon?"

Are you kidding? Time to ship a dog to Alaska too.

I think Dr. Tim should just add to the name Boo with a Radley.

Our cat now resides in Colorado because he wouldn't stop doing his business on the dining room area rug.

Check Crossview's comments for some answers to nagging pigeon questions.

Kathleen said...

PS ~ Crossview, actually OxiClean does quite well with cat pee. Our last two cats (who incidentally ended up at the pound) peed on hubby's shirts. He didn't want the cats in the first place. Needless to say, he wasn't happy. I asked him what his pile of shirts was doing on the floor in the first place. I digress.

I laundered them in a whole bucket of concentrated OxiClean (you're supposed to use like a scoop or something for a whole load of laundry). Came out good and fresh as new.

Kid said...

Odor: Even though you may not smell it, the animals may be able to. A couple products you can try: Odor X-it and Nature's Miracle. Make sure you get for cat urine because dog urine is an entirely different subject.

To the basic problem. My wife and I have had many cats, as we spent a bit of time fostering orphan kittens or otherwise feral cats getting them ready for adoption. We still have 6.

Cats will urinate outside the litter box for one or more of three reasons that we've Ever seen or heard of:
1.) Urinary Tract problem. It hurts and they associate the pain with the litter box. Fairly rare. 2 and 3 are more likely.

2.) To mark their territory. If there are other animal(s) in the house, they will mark and will also urinate where the smell the other animal unless they and the other animal get along really really well. (Why it's best to adopt two litter mate cats rather than one at a time. The only sure way to have two pals)

3.) They are pissed for any number of reasons. Boo may be tired of getting kicked around, and may be having trouble adapting to his new habitat.

Honestly, the best course of action for 2 and 3 (situation 1 is obvious) is to Love the heck out them. Really. Love that sucker until he can't stand anymore love. Pet. Brush. Treats.

Cats are like 2-3 year old kids and stay that way. If they think they aren't loved, they go nuts just like a kid would.

Dogs too.

Kellie said...

No, the stupidest cat name ever was "Beaver," which was what my old cat's name Baxter was before I inherited him.

And, because I know misery loves company, Harrison's bed is currently stripped because Clara puked on it at 7pm last night. He slept on Annaleigh's floor.

Anonymous said...

Yikes. I bet you handled it a lot better than I would have.

TobyBo said...

Oh man. I would need to be locked up if that happened to me in my present frame of mind.