Curiosity and the Cat
Hobbled Runner fans are clamoring for a cat story. Not just any cat story – they want to hear the one about the cat and garbage disposal. Don’t worry; it’s not as bad as it sounds. I only regret I didn’t have the sense to snap a picture of the little guy with his entire arm trapped in the sink.
Curiosity killed the cat – or so the old saying goes. Last week in the Hobbled Household, Roscoe had a run-in with curiosity. While it didn’t kill the cat –it almost cut off his arm.
A little background: I’m an early riser, and so are Duke and Roscoe. We get up early, go out (Duke and I), do our thing (Duke actually – I use the indoor facilities), get the paper off the front step, then return to make breakfasts and lunches. Both dog and cat are “very helpful” during this morning routine. I spend about half of my mornings tripping over Duke and shooing Roscoe off the cupboards and out of the sink while I try to get work done.
Roscoe has a thing about sinks. In the upstairs bathroom he loves pulling up the “stopper” thingy and looking down the drain. I often come into the bathroom only to find the stopper missing. It’s not in the sink or on the vanity. It’s usually off in the corner somewhere, behind the toilet. He has mastered the bathroom sink.
The kitchen sink was the next frontier for Roscoe. It presented an incredible challenge – the drain cover is much heavier. In addition to stopping up the sink it also is the mechanism used to turn on/off the garbage disposal.
One day last week Roscoe managed to pull the heavy stopper device out of the kitchen sink and peer down into the much larger drain. Oh the excitement! Next, he did the most obvious thing; he poked his head in and tried to crawl down. He didn’t fit (but he almost did). I grabbed him and tossed him on the floor.
I stepped away to do something and came back to see him in the sink – again. No surprise. He’s very persistent. I reached down to pull him out again, and he screamed. He also didn’t move. He was lying down in the sink, head turned to one side, his entire arm in the sink. I soon realized he arm was stuck in the sink, garbage disposal. Luckily the only way to turn the disposal on is to insert the drain cover/stopper and turn it. I believe (though it’s not a strong faith), that the only way to operate this disposal is with the drain cover. At least I think it’s the only way.
I was able to reach around his shoulder/arm and get part of my hand down the drain, but I couldn’t remove his arm. It was obvious his paw was trapped but with his arm down there, my big hand didn’t have much room to move.
It was time for drastic steps; time to wake the Hobbled Wife. Those who know her know she values her sleep above all. With that in mind, I have to confess that it was kind of fun to see how quickly she jumped out of bed when I said, “I hate to wake you but Roscoe has his arm stuck in the garbage disposal.”
She quickly set to work and with her smaller hands, and the Hobbled Wife rescued Roscoe from the drain/disposal. If not successful, Roscoe would have been – of course – the Hobbled Cat.
Curiosity killed the cat – or so the old saying goes. Last week in the Hobbled Household, Roscoe had a run-in with curiosity. While it didn’t kill the cat –it almost cut off his arm.
A little background: I’m an early riser, and so are Duke and Roscoe. We get up early, go out (Duke and I), do our thing (Duke actually – I use the indoor facilities), get the paper off the front step, then return to make breakfasts and lunches. Both dog and cat are “very helpful” during this morning routine. I spend about half of my mornings tripping over Duke and shooing Roscoe off the cupboards and out of the sink while I try to get work done.
Roscoe has a thing about sinks. In the upstairs bathroom he loves pulling up the “stopper” thingy and looking down the drain. I often come into the bathroom only to find the stopper missing. It’s not in the sink or on the vanity. It’s usually off in the corner somewhere, behind the toilet. He has mastered the bathroom sink.
The kitchen sink was the next frontier for Roscoe. It presented an incredible challenge – the drain cover is much heavier. In addition to stopping up the sink it also is the mechanism used to turn on/off the garbage disposal.
One day last week Roscoe managed to pull the heavy stopper device out of the kitchen sink and peer down into the much larger drain. Oh the excitement! Next, he did the most obvious thing; he poked his head in and tried to crawl down. He didn’t fit (but he almost did). I grabbed him and tossed him on the floor.
I stepped away to do something and came back to see him in the sink – again. No surprise. He’s very persistent. I reached down to pull him out again, and he screamed. He also didn’t move. He was lying down in the sink, head turned to one side, his entire arm in the sink. I soon realized he arm was stuck in the sink, garbage disposal. Luckily the only way to turn the disposal on is to insert the drain cover/stopper and turn it. I believe (though it’s not a strong faith), that the only way to operate this disposal is with the drain cover. At least I think it’s the only way.
I was able to reach around his shoulder/arm and get part of my hand down the drain, but I couldn’t remove his arm. It was obvious his paw was trapped but with his arm down there, my big hand didn’t have much room to move.
It was time for drastic steps; time to wake the Hobbled Wife. Those who know her know she values her sleep above all. With that in mind, I have to confess that it was kind of fun to see how quickly she jumped out of bed when I said, “I hate to wake you but Roscoe has his arm stuck in the garbage disposal.”
She quickly set to work and with her smaller hands, and the Hobbled Wife rescued Roscoe from the drain/disposal. If not successful, Roscoe would have been – of course – the Hobbled Cat.
Comments
Iris has a thing about toilets and will fish floating toilet paper out if we don't keep the seat down. Luckily she has never fallen in or gotten stuck.