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Testing the whole “9 lives” thing

Oscar has not only learned to climb and tightrope-walk along the new attic banister… Oscar has learned to love to climb and tightrope-walk along the new attic banister.

We are in so much trouble.

The kittens have never been afraid of what we used to call “the cliff” (i.e., the drop from the attic floor into the stairwell, pre-railing) – remember this photo from when I first introduced our three cats?

thecliff

Sometimes they would even nap right along the edge of the cliff, totally unconcerned about the possibility of rolling over in their sleep and falling down the stairwell. My heart was in my throat, but they were totally oblivious.

Silly cats.

Fearful not just for the furry beasts (they do have nine lives, after all), but desiring to keep our own human bones unbroken (and bring our house another step closer to code!), we finally – just this summer – had banisters and handrails installed in our attic bedroom.

atticrailings

(Note to self and husband: as soon as the fall weather kicks in and the attic is cool throughout the day, you really should finish painting.)

Unfortunately, it was only a matter of time before I woke up to this:

oscaracrobat01

And later, this:

acrobatoscar02

And Oscar wasn’t the only culprit, either (though he does seem to be the main climber/jumper/acrobat of the bunch). As soon as Grisabella saw his highwire début she had to get in on the action too… and even Felix, the more cautious of the two kittens, was up on his hind legs leaning against the uprights and looking just a little too interested in what was going on with his mom and brother.

highwireact

So basically we haven’t so much made the attic a safer place for cats by preventing a fall, as increased the possibility for damage when they do fall.

I think I’ll put the vet on speed dial.

And start a contingency fund.

Laurel Storey, CZT – Certified Zentangle Teacher. Writer, reader, tangler, iPhoneographer, cat herder, learner of French and Italian, crocheter, needle felter, on-and-off politics junkie, 80s music trivia freak, ongoing work in progress.