The Set Up

We should not get into the habit of creating what the law refers to as an “attractive nuisance.” This is something that almost seems designed to lure the easily lured into a situation where they will get in trouble.

We are obligated to not do that.

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As a long time Cat Appreciator, I’ve gotten into certain habits that keep my cats out of trouble. They also keep me out of trouble; I’m much more of a person who Puts Things Away than I used to be.

If our cat has not trained us yet, what are we waiting for? Here’s some mistakes we should avoid:

Leaving cat toys around. We call them earrings, hair clips, tie tacks, or money. We know what cats call them.

It can be annoying to get a dresser top jewelry box or valet to put our stuff in, but it’s far more annoying to hunt for our stuff under a heavy dresser among the dust bunnies. Olwyn is such a determined student of gravity I moved the jewelry box itself, a stained glass item, rather than worry she would somehow knock it off my bureau.

That’s the right response. Why worry about something, when we can just put it away?

Optical illusions. We might not realize we have a few habits that are setting our cats up. I used to leave a book partly hanging off the table. But cats don’t understand the book is not anchored; they think it’s a shelf. Since most of their world works that way, the crashes that follow don’t necessarily teach them.

The lid off the toilet tank, the empty glass near the table edge, or the back of a rocking chair; these are all objects the cat expects to be solid, and aren’t. If we move the rocking chair or leave the lid off the tank, our cat’s expectations of the object’s behavior won’t change until an incident has already occurred.

Pointless power struggles. Disagreements over what should go in front of a window (the cat will always think it should be the cat) are pointless. It simply makes us frustrated and interferes with a loving relationship.

I don’t know why people whose hobbies are dried flower arranging wind up with Alpha cats; I’m sure it’s because they either fell in love, or didn’t know any better. But even more alert Cat Appreciators can get hung up over the placement of a doll with a ruffled skirt or putting a tippy objet d’art in a favorite cat runway.

My mantra is that I’m the human; which doesn’t mean I always get my way. (Even among humans, that has never happened.) No, being the human in the relationship means I have to look out for bad consequences that I set up; vulnerability and cats don’t mix. Breakables go into a glass fronted bookcase where they are easy to dust. That’s using my bigger brain!

We got a cat in the expectation that things would change; specifically, our loneliness, longing for cuddling, or capacity for fun. Like all change, we don’t always control how it affects us and our life.

But we can be on the lookout for trouble, and head it off, can’t we?

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