Scout has had a rough time these last six weeks or so. He has an ongoing issue that seems to flare under stress like when I leave for too long at one time. Since this problem is related to litter box performance, I have spent much of the last several weeks hyper focused on his potty habits.
While I always try to keep his box clean, it’s immaculate if I’m awake and present to tend to it. This fall, he has grown accustomed to a certain level of attention where I praise him for going potty and then immediately clean up after his royal highness.
Yesterday morning he evidently was disappointed that I wasn’t awake to tend to his box at 3:30 a.m. I didn’t hear when he scratched at the wall after completing his business. I didn’t hear when he pulled the scooper out from between the box and the wall and heaved it into the middle of the bathroom floor. I also wasn’t conscious when he set to work kicking litter three feet across the floor with the zeal and skill of an Olympian headed for the kitty winter games.
When those things failed to rouse me from my slumber, my house panther jumped up on the bathroom counter and used a well manicured paw to open a cabinet door and then slam said door.
It started slowly, of course.
Then he picked up the pace, opening and then SLAMMING, opening and then SLAMMING, over and over again.
By the time I stumbled into the bathroom and turned on the light, he had abandoned his revelry and was sitting so prim and proper waiting for my prompt attendance to his concerns.
He watched carefully while I swept up the litter, scooped his box, and tied up everything in a TJ Maxx sack before dropping it in the trash can.
He jumped down, sniffed at the box and, evidently satisfied, followed me back to bed. He was snoring in minutes. I was awake for an hour wondering if he’s always been such a little maniac or if he is worse now.
Oh, the things a pet parent will do for their children. It’s a good thing he is cute.
I’m on vacation this week. In fact, I’m supposed to be out day tripping a few days but that seems to not be in the cards.
Scout is still sick and continues to be a worry. Honestly, I never thought I would be so intimately familiar with the bathroom habits of a cat but here we are.
I celebrate any time he is able to go potty and worry when hours pass and he won’t go near his litter box.
Since I’m home, I’m trying to clean the house and hope to carve out some hours to do yard work that has been delayed by a summer of prolonged rain/ intense humidity/ heat stroke inducing temps/ a tricky knee/ and the fact that I’m usually at work anytime the weather is decent.
But Scout is especially clingy right now and I have spent a lot of time packing him around while I try to do indoor chores a or just sitting quietly next to him while he sleeps with two paws wrapped around my leg.
It’s hard to see our pets be sick. He can’t tell me what’s going on and I can’t explain why I’m torturing him with all this medicine when he already feels bad. But his issues can be life threatening if allowed to persist so we carry on as best we can and muddle through.
He’s pictured above, cuddled under a blanket and trying hard to understand why I’m taking his picture when he clearly needs a break.
I’ll get back to telling you about my September adventures and live happily through my memories of those good experiences. Maybe one of these days I’ll get to leave home and do some sightseeing or find something interesting to tell you about.
Meanwhile, I’m on paw patrol and grateful to be on vacay when I can take care of my boy.
Greetings, friends. I just wanted to pop in and say I’m still around even if I haven’t been present here for some time. My days are currently more mentally taxing than normal and the thought of writing even one more paragraph feels like too much most of the time.
This is a season and not a permanent way of life even though it does feel like it will never end.
My No Spend Challenge kept me mostly at home, resting, reading and turning inward this winter. That’s officially done now but I unofficially haven’t changed much. It’s an act of self preservation at this point but Adventure Season will start in about six weeks and I’m looking forward to it. There are several day trips I would like to take, some new-to-me bookstores and diners and maybe some longer adventures too.
Life will eventually return to normal and I’ll get back on some kind of writing schedule here too. I actually have a ton of travel stories to tell you from last fall but simply haven’t had the mental energy to do it.
Last November I announced that I wanted to hike as much as possible this winter. I had big plans for hitting the local trails.
And then reality set in.
The weekends were too harsh for hiking with frigid temperatures, icy trails and hazardous road conditions that kept us away. Then the snow melted into mud and ice. And then the wind moved in, making it unsafe to be under trees where a falling limb could land on your head at anytime. And then the rain came, ushering in a period of flooding.
Such is life in Ohio.
I did get to walk the Moonville Rail Trail a few weekends ago and then made it to a nearby trail at Old Man’s Cave in the Hocking Hills yesterday.
Fresh air and a good stretch of the legs will change your outlook on life.
The wind is back today but it’s about 65 degrees right now so I turned off the heat and opened a few windows to air out the house.
Sunday is always a reset day for me. Laundry, a little food preps and some small chores help to make the week go more smoothly. Some rest, reading and lots of hydration will help me feel like facing it.
I like habit and routine to keep me honest. I like adventure days for keeping me happy and fulfilled. I also believe in listening to my body and mind and in giving them what they need especially when in a season of challenges.
Through it all Scout has remained my steadfast companion and perhaps the only one in my life with no demands other than dinner and no judgement of me except when dinner is late.
We all need someone like that in our lives!
Go forth and adventure when you can. Dream of better days when you can’t and remember that rest is importantly to feeling well enough to face your day.
I’ll be here taking it easy and gearing up for better days!
Life here has been exhausting lately so I really didn’t welcome the time change and the lost hour that came with it this weekend.
Since I was already tired, yesterday was not the ideal time to rearrange my living room. After all, I had been procrastinating this project for some time. It clearly could have waited one more week but I decided that this was the day.
You don’t realize how much is packed into a room until you have to move it all.
But I wasn’t alone! This guy supervised the entire operation. He kept a watchful eye as I pushed a 150 year old steamer trunk that I use as a coffee table and tugged the couch across the room. He wasn’t sure what was happening at first but quickly discovered there was great fun to be had.
In fact, it is possibly that Scout rode on every single piece of furniture and rolled up area rug as they were dragged, pushed and otherwise forced into position.
He weighs seventeen pounds. I didn’t need the extra weight but who can say no to that face?
He’s a good little supervisor.
I slept late this morning.
Yesterday started in Colorado at 3:30 am. One short car ride, a flight, airport train ride, another flight, airport shuttle, and rides in two more cars brought me to my Ohio home on the ridge by about 8:30 pm.
Easy peasy!
As I turned down the bed, I couldn’t shake the sensation I was still in motion. Luckily, Scout curled up next to me and I was out like a light, sleeping through the night for the first time in longer than I can remember.
When I awoke this morning, I knew I was home before opening my eyes. The sound of the heat pump and even the feel of the bedding are unmistakable elements of home.
And when I opened my eyes, Scout was sitting at my right arm, staring at me. It’s hard to tell how long he was there. He didn’t make a noise and wasn’t asking for anything.
He just sat there watching me as though confirming I was really there. I scratched his ears and he settled in next to me for a nap.
I tried to go back to sleep but the dry nose I always bring home high western elevations made that impossible. But I have stayed in this spot, hurkle durkling for a while and luxuriating in the solace of my own home.
This is partly for me and partly for him. While he didn’t go on a journey, he’s had a rough week too. My parents take good care of him but that’s not the same as having me there and he doesn’t understand where I go or why I would want to leave him.
Our pets are our family but we sometimes have to leave them. Whether it’s for a few hours or a few days, they are left alone and wondering why you left in the first place.
They miss us. He misses me. It doesn’t hurt me to lie here with a stuffy nose for a while longer just so he can luxuriate in the moment of having his person home.