So we have two cats. One of them (Hank) is large and smart, and the other one (JoJo) is neither. When we first got JoJo, we started seeing little ashy footprints all over the place and we eventually traced it to this:
That’s basically where they used to hook up an old oil-based heater into the chimney. We leaned a pretty heavy board in front of it for a while, but she’s recently gotten big enough that a) She can move that board and b) She now brings a ton of debris with her when she wriggles out of that space.
Or she did. And then I went into Problem Solving, But With Lasers mode:
Ah, yes. Cats magically find every nook and cranny. One of ours climbed up the shelves in the basement, found a gap in the drop ceiling, and had a lot of fun exploring… until she crashed through a tile.
I’d prefer to set up a laser to zap them when they go near the hole - like those automated sprinklers you can set up to chase away critters invading your vegetable garden.
(j/k, I love cats as well as dogs)
Related - laser pointer syndrome is a recognized condition for cats and dogs. We don’t know if that’s what he has it, but the german shepard my ex’s brother inherited with the farm they bought will pounce on the light coming out of the fridge when the door is opened, and flickering light coming thru the windows, or even tries to jump up walls when sunlight is reflected off something moving outide. Nuts.
I have a brother and sister that I got when they were twelve weeks old. Bonnie and Clyde. Now Clyde is a sweet timid boy. But little Bonnie’s name suits her. She is on the smaller side and quite spunky. I call her Machine Gun Bonnie because she slaps her brother and out pup around all of the time and those paws are quick. She has smacked them 10 times before they even know what has hit them. Thankfully they are just soft taps with no claws, but we all know who the boss is. Anyway, she climbs EVERYTHING in sight. I have found her tight rope walking the rails the garage door goes up on, on every cabinet, in every drawer, closet or hole she can find. One time the little stinker pulled the register up off the floor and crawled down in the ductwork and got stuck in there. My husband was freaking out. Our whole basement is covered in drywall and he was trying to figure out how we were going to get her out without tearing out the ceiling. THANKFULLY, she finally backed out of it. Love my cats and my little Bonnie is by far the most fun to watch. All whiskers and attitude. The one with the hitler stach LOL <3
Anyway, she climbs EVERYTHING in sight. I have found her tight rope walking the rails the garage door goes up on, on every cabinet, in every drawer, closet or hole she can find. One time the little stinker pulled the register up off the floor and crawled down in the ductwork and got stuck in there. My husband was freaking out. Our whole basement is covered in drywall and he was trying to figure out how we were going to get her out without tearing out the ceiling. THANKFULLY, she finally backed out of it. Love my cats and my little Bonnie is by far the most fun to watch. All whiskers and attitude. The one with the hitler stach LOL <3