The No-Spend Zone

Smelly cat, smelly cat, what have they been feeding you?

You didn't think that was the end of our cat issues, did you?

Amanda kindly moved the litter box and newly-purchased litter box screen out of the living room and into the spare bedroom, which we have now as a media room.

The door to this room directly faces my bedroom door. And what I didn't expect was that every time I walked to my room, I'd get a big 'ol whiff of cat poo.

It wasn't bad every day. Just like... every three days my eyes would water. I mentioned it to Amanda, thinking maybe it was something to do with how often the box is cleaned? I don't know these cat things. I only know dog things. And then my brother visited Friday night and said, "It smells like poop" when he went in the hallway.

You bet your sweet buns that I ran out to Publix that next morning for some deodorizers!

To be fair to Amanda, she did say a few days ago that she would buy some plug-in air freshener refills. But I couldn't wait a day longer. I was already out doing Publix shopping, and there was a buy-one-get-one free sale on Glade refills (we already had some plugs) and I also picked up some Febreze air spray.

I'm relieved to say that it worked. I plugged them in yesterday, and no more cat poo smell near my room! Sure it stinks (pun intended) to have to spend money every so often now for air fresheners, but ya gotta do what ya gotta do to avoid cat poo.

The cat fight/catfight has been broken up

Hurray! This morning Amanda and I have talked through our concerns about her cat and I'm happy to say we came to a compromise. When it came to the cat's litter box, she had it in the living room because she said there wasn't room in her bathroom. It was an eyesore, so she said she'd get a screen to cover it.

Problem is, she bought a screen that I thought was terrible to put in our living room by our fireplace, and she didn't ask me before she bought it. It's cute, just more for a bathroom than by the fireplace. But the compromise was that we'll put the kitty litter in the den/library room so it is out of the living room. I don't know why we didn't think of this sooner.

And as for my need to clean, we'll just split the costs of cleaning supplies (specifically, the Swiffer wet pads). No need for maids and I don't have to feel that I'm bearing the burden of buying all the cleaning supplies.

Amanda's mom is visiting today. I won't be able to see her because I'm working, but I'm sure Amanda will have some shopping adventures with her.

[And if you couldn't tell, Amanda and I are now IN TECHNICOLOR! to help you tell our posts apart.]

Bridget makes kittens cry.

So Bridget makes a post about the woes of living with a pet (something few Americans have to deal with, since NOBODY owns animals nowadays), and I have to console a weeping Tootles whose only crime is continuing to do what she's always been doing.  Perhaps Bridget should consider what I have to spend to keep up with her idiocentricities. 

I just made an online purchase of $35 on a cat-screen so that the litter box does not offend dear Bridget's sight.  I even purchased (as stated previously) a hidden litter scoop at a slightly extra-cost ($7).  And now Bridget is suggesting that I find another way to give Tootles water, such as a kitty water fountain, even though for the past three years she's only ever insisted on drinking from the sink (and for the record, I tried the kitty fountain already).  I even offered to pay for my parent's cleaning lady to swing by once every two weeks (~$60).  I'm trying to be considerate of her feelings, while at the same time thinking she's a complete nut.

Hopefully my mother (who is visiting tomorrow, finally) can either offer a solution or otherwise assuage Bridget's OCD-impulses.  And yes, Bridget, I know: "I don't have OCD!"  I don't know how many times I have to lick the countertops in order for her to believe that it's clean by all health-department standards.  What germs there are are unavoidable!!  The cat is going NOWHERE, I tell you!

Speaking of Mommy - this brings up another topic: begging!  I love it when my mother visits/I visit my mother, because not only does she have a better style-sense than I do, but she also can be wheedled into buying me several pricey items.  Never underestimate the high-pitched power of the whine!  Hopefully her visit will provide Bridget & I with an area rug for the living room - one on which I'm sure Tootles can't wait to rub her butt on.

The cost of cleanliness

I've never lived with a cat before this week. I'm more of a dog person. And then I really only like tiny dogs. But Amanda's got her cat Tootles that she's brought into the new place. I thought it would be fine, but I didn't realize how much it would stress me out more than a dog.

I didn't realize how much time cats spend on counter tops. And oh Heavens do they shed!! Ugh. Tootles hopped up on my lap the other day, and I pet her, and it was a cute moment. When she got down five minutes later, I had enough fur on my pants to make a kitty wig!

I may not have to pay for her food and kitty litter, but I'm paying in terms of cleaning supplies. I'm going to have to buy lint rollers for myself, but it's the counter tops that are gross. There is cat hair all over the kitchen whenever she jumps on the counter. So every time I want to cook, I have to wipe down the counter. She used to go on my bathroom counter, but now I just close the door all the time. I still can't seem to get all the cat hair out of there.

The worst part is that Amanda encourages Tootles to drink from the kitchen faucet because -- or so Amanda says -- Tootles is used to drinking from the sink and won't drink out of her water bowl.

So the cat's tongue touches the faucet where the water comes out.

Tootles licks her butt. Tootles licks the moisture off the end of the faucet. So if you drink the tap water, it's like licking the cat's butt.

Needless to say, every time I want to make a pot of coffee or anything with the tap water, I take a Lysol wipe and scrub the faucet. Because that is just too gross to me.

When I approached Amanda about it, she says I'm being a germaphobe and I should just ignore it. But frankly, I rather avoid cat spit and cat hair in my food. If that makes me like Monk, then so be it.

I would like Amanda to stop encouraging Tootles to drink from the sink and have the cat get used to drinking from her bowl again, but since that might not happen, I need to keep buying more Lysol than I normally would. Even then, she will still jump on the counter tops, and I'm cleaning down the counter tops more than I would normally, and I'll Swiffer the floors more than I would normally.

But while I was cleaning on Sunday, I express out loud that I was having trouble with the vacuum cleaner. Amanda said she hasn't used a vacuum in years, so she jokes that she's not one to help me. And then she throws this line out...

I'll just get a maid to come here once a month.

...WHAT? We are two girls living alone. How can she dare suggest that we should waste money on a maid?? I guess cause that's what she is used to? I think her dad has a cleaning person. I got upset that she would consider that as an option. Just get out the broom and Windex once a week -- it's not that hard!

But it got me thinking... if she suggested getting a maid in our first week here, it looks like for the time being I'll be doing most of the cleaning up around here. I'll have to talk to her about splitting the cost of cleaning supplies.