ANDRE BEGIN

Throughout the eleven years that Ivy the cat and I have been together, not a day goes by that I don’t find myself scanning the floors like a robotic vacuum, searching for anything that could pose a danger.

Fortunately, as a senior cat, she isn’t nearly as curious as she used to be, and we don’t tend to find her getting into mischief to the same degree as she used to. Her worst offence these days is knocking her soft, plushy toys off the guest room bed and then insisting we look for them when she complains that her toys aren’t all properly accounted for.

Just the same, as someone who lives with a touch of OCD, my anxiety escalates when I see horror stories on social media about pets getting into things that they shouldn’t, the fear it causes the pet parents, and the resulting sticker shock from the emergency room visit.

That said, I seem to have developed a superpower for detecting potential hazards before they happen and swooping in to catch them before they hit the floor. Given Ivy’s history of digestive system sensitivities (like father, like daughter), the last thing she needs is to lick up a foreign body that might cause her unnecessary struggle.

For example, anything that rips, shreds or falls to little pieces will have me sliding on the floor like a ball player trying to make it to home plate, to clean them up before Ivy notices. Maybe that’s why so many of my blue jeans are fading quickly in the knee and bum areas.

The same goes for kitchen crumbs. Given how many foods aren’t safe for cats, I admit that I am a little obsessive about cleaning the floor under our kitchen prep area.

Even though Ivy only seems interested in objects that smell like food, she probably wouldn’t show interest in inanimate objects. But just the same, accidents can happen so quickly, and it would break my heart to see her lick up something that could be problematic.

When I take her outside for a leash walk, in trying to steer her away from the plants that are dangerous to cats, I swear that she looks up at me as if to say, “Dad, you worry too much.” She’s probably right, but it’s probably just my instincts as a loving parent kicking in to try to keep her safe.

To keep my mind at ease, all I can do is keep the house as tidy as possible, keep a watchful eye, and eliminate anything that could be problematic as soon as I spot it. Fortunately, with a cat that sleeps three-quarters of the day, I have ample opportunity to keep an eye out for such dangers and to fix them before Ivy sees them, to keep her living a long, safe, and healthy life.

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Sincere thanks for reading!
Have a great day,
André