Cat and Dog Habits

Yesterday I stayed home from work because I was feeling really puny. Days like that, when I have cat purring on my chest and dog warming my feet, make up for the random habits I've acquired since becoming a cat and dog owner.

1. Cut the handles on plastic grocery bags.

Once upon a time when Jinkies and lived in my parents' basement, I was upstairs in the kitchen talking to my mom. As our conversation went on, I could hear Jinkies in the stairwell meowing. He's a cat, he does that sometimes. But the meowing changed to yowling, so I rushed to investigate. My little buddy tried to walk through the handles of a plastic grocery bag and got one stuck extremely snugly around his pudgy little belly.

2. Throw my dental floss away in the kitchen garbage can.

I don't have a top to my bathroom garbage can and find it disturbing to see my cat walking around the house with dental floss hanging out of his mouth. Plus, I'd rather not bring him to vet for obstruction surgery. Note: This habit also flows over into anything with a string or thin plastic pull tab. Extra Note: Balls of yarn are also banned from my house.

3. Keep way too many things on the kitchen table.

My kitchen table has a constant pile of stuff on it. The stuff is to protect the house plants from the cat. I suppose one could always build some sort of protective chicken wire cage with nicely painted wood frame. The motivation might be there, if I actually used my kitchen table. Or would I use my kitchen table if it was clear?

4. Always put away and rinse dishes.

The trend of items have been leaning towards a curious cat, but this habit was developed thanks to both of my furry little friends. Dishes must be returned to the kitchen. Leaving them on the coffee table or surface lower than a kitchen counter when not in the same room (even for a minute) is not acceptable. Rinsing them off is not exactly mandatory, but strongly suggested. (If they can't smell it, they won't go after it.)

5. Store chocolate in the microwave.

Chocolate has a strong scent, and Sparky has quite the sweet too. He will go to great lengths to get the chocolate he's not aware can cause him harm. I learned this lesson one day when I forgot I had an oversized super-extra dark chocolate bar in my briefcase. I left the living room long enough to take a shower and when I came back there was tin foil on the carpet. The Sparkster dug into my briefcase to consume the chocolate bar as fast as he could. That was an expensive mistake. Thank goodness for vets and pills that make your dog upchuck.

6. Hang bread in a grocery sack from a cabinet pull.

Yes, my pets are scavengers, but I do feed them on a regular basis and they get occasional treats. You wouldn't know that when you wake up in the morning or when the clock strikes 4pm. Anyway, bread and any sort of baked good is seen in the eyes of Jinkies as fair game. He'll drag it off the counter and wrestle it. The baked good is never salvageable, you find it left for dead with puncture wounds, bite marks and squished beyond recognition.

7. Cover beds with a vinyl tablecloth.
I currently don't have an offender... Thank Goodness! Unhappy animals act out. I used to have a very sassy cat that would "show me" her dislikes by peeing on things. In order to save the beds, I purchased vinyl tablecloths that I could use as a bedspread. Note: This habit does resurface during long vacations. Don't want to be on the receiving end of a furball acting out.

I'm sure there are plenty of other habits I've acquired whether I'll ever realize it or not. These are just the first ones off the top of my head. Life would not be the same without my little buddies.