My boyfriend has a new kitten. She's pretty rambunctious so she's going to need some toys to keep her occupied, although, like most cats, she seems to prefer a crinkly ball of paper, a ballpoint pen that fell under the table, and some stray dice to her spandy new store-bought playthings. However, I do wish she'd find someplace to sharpen her claws besides my flesh.
I offered to buy a nice catnip-infused corrugated cardboard scratching contraption for the little darling, and a discussion of whether it mightn't be more cost effective to just let her shred the sofa ensued. Given that the couch in question is a very threadbare and somewhat uncomfortable blue reclining monstrosity for which my boyfriend proudly paid the princely sum of ten entire dollars this spring, I can see his point, but I still oppose letting kitties wantonly destroy living room furniture. Finally, I came up with an argument to support my gut instinct: what if ten years from now he gets a couch that costs, say $200, which I know from furniture shopping with my mother would buy a much nicer used couch but not a new one, and then she destroys it because she's developed bad habits. He countered that he can't imagine ever having furniture that costs that much.
Good grief! I like frugal finds, but I plan not to base all of my home furnishing decisions on what I can score cheapest at the thrift store when I'm in my thirties. I guess I'm hoping for a little lifestyle inflation.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
2 comments:
double sided tape works well as a deterrent to cat scratching. probably simpler to apply to the couch than your leg though. good luck, kittens are high burst balls of energy.
I definitely recommend spending $15 or so on a scratching post or softpaws which cover up the cat's claws. You can use tape or other objects to deter a cat from scratching furniture and carpet, but they still have a natural need to scratch- which doesn't stop once they're adults. It's going to cost you a lot less in the short run to spend $15 dollars than to continue to replace furniture over the course of the kitty's 20-year lifespan.
Post a Comment