Today’s a warm early spring day, so I thought I’d open some windows. It was time to air out the house. Of course, it doesn’t do much good to open a window if you’ve got the storm windows down instead of the screens. There’s just one problem. Actually two, since I have two cats.
Purrseus isn’t that smart. He’s also kinda cowardly, despite his name and despite being a chonker. But he purrs like an idling Harley, and he was braver as a kitten.
Smudge, however, is generally pretty smart. He’s smart enough that I use him as an unpaid subcontractor at my day job. (It’s a MEWNIX system; he knows this.) But when it comes to me opening windows after having them closed all winter, he and Purrseus both lose their furry little cat minds.
This is complicated enough when opening a window on the ground floor. I wouldn’t want them jumping out for outdoor kitty adventures when people drive down a residential street at speeds exceeding 35MPH. But I also opened the attic windows. And what were the cats doing as I raise the storm window but haven’t yet lowered the screen?
They were on the window sill sticking their furry little heads out. They probably wouldn’t fall. Even for a cat, a fall from a second-story window is probably survivable. Doesn’t mean I want them doing that. Especially Smudge. He’s at least 12 years old. And if I picked them up and put them back on the floor, they jumped back into the window sill.
So I closed the attic window I was trying to open, went downstairs, and fed them. That kept them distracted long enough for me to go back upstairs, close the attic door behind me, and get the damn windows open. Should have thought to do that first.
Meanwhile, the screens are down and the cats are enjoying the fresh spring breezes. One of them is arguing with a squirrel. This is one reason I insist on continuing to work from home.