48 hours. That’s approximately the amount of time that passed between my husband and I finding a home we wanted to buy and finding out our offer had been accepted. A few hours after that, I received the final contract in my Inbox.
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Needless to say, the past few days and weeks have been a whirlwind of activity. We certainly didn’t expect to find a place we could call home one Saturday morning, but we walked in and just knew. I love that feeling. I’ve been lucky to experience it a few other times in my life, namely when CG and Ellie respectively popped into my life.
And now as we count down the days until our closing, I’m starting to think about our new life there – specifically how this new place may impact the cats.
The big change between our new place and our current apartment is that it is two stories, which means there are stairs. To be honest, me from a few years ago would be shocked and disappointed to find out that I’m moving into a home with stairs, but now I’m not so worried about the cats. Here’s why.
First, the stairs are what I would consider to be as CH friendly as they can be. They’re carpeted, and except for a turn at the bottom, they’re a straight shot up. Plus, there are walls on both sides of the stairs, instead of banisters.
Plus, CG has proven to us again and again that he can manage carpeted stairs. He can even manage crazy stairs that are difficult for humans to navigate. Plus, I honestly believe that when he first lived with stairs (check out the “crazy stairs” link), it helped keep him fit and in shape. Now that he has a more sedentary life, he’s become a bit less svelte.
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The stairs in our new home
Plus, I truly believe he loves the challenge. Whenever we visit my brother’s home, which also has carpeted stairs, CG will honestly spend the afternoon walking up and down them. He wants to use stairs. I love that.
That said, Ellie’s a big question mark. She has also tried my brother’s stairs, with less success. Granted, she was younger and she is more wobbly than CG. However, she isn’t any less brave, so I think this may be a good opportunity for her to get some exercise and build up her muscles. She’s a wisp of a cat, so maybe more exercise will help build some lean muscles.
Of course all of Ellie’s interactions with the stairs will be closely monitored. We’ve already agreed that a baby gate will be used at either the bottom of the stairs or top, depending on which level the cats are on at the time.
So that presents another challenge: During the day, the cats will likely be confined to the ground floor. During the evening, we’ll confine them to the second floor. That means that we’ll have to have cat stations (litter box, food, water, beds) on each floor. That shouldn’t be an issue – it may be a little inconvenient, but it’s worth it to ensure their safety.
Other than that, we’re dreaming up other ways to make the house more of a home for them. Our backyard has a tree in it, so I’m eager to put up a bird feeder so our cats can watch some entertainment during the day. We’ll see what else we come up with.
In the meantime, I’ll be eagerly counting down the days until we can move!
Have you moved to a new home with your CH cats? What sorts of things did you have to consider? Have you all been able to adjust to the changes? Please share in the comments!
Image may be NSFW.
Clik here to view.
Image may be NSFW.Clik here to view.
