Of course, I picked the hottest possible day to move. Fortunately, with the help of Sara, Dave, Bonnie, Dan, Solomon, and Morgan (and Aliza, of course) we got everything moved in record time.
Well, not quite everything...
You see, my couch, my lovely green couch that I still consider my first grownup purchase... well, we couldn't get it into the apartment. We removed a door from its hinges, we took the feet off the sofa, but there was one corner we just couldn't get around. It's a little sad, but I'm less upset about it than I would have thought. The cats had taken to a couple of the corners and the fabric had gotten a bit torn at one place, so it's not the end of the world. Fortunately, Aliza has a smaller sofa that we brought over and got in just fine.
Speaking of the cats, things are a little rough right now. I waited until yesterday afternoon to bring them over to the new place because we wanted to get as unpacked as possible before adding the kitty element. They were freaked the hell out at first but they seem to have adjusted and are exploring and finding nooks and crannies that they'll sit in for hours on end. They're also very excited to have windows again where they can look out and see the world.
The problem came last night, when they just would not let us sleep. I swear I was awake every hour trying to stop a cat from climbing something in appropriate, clawing something, stepping on my head, stepping on Aliza's head, or just being obnoxious in general. I know this is temporary and that they'll settle down once they're more familiar with the place (it took a few weeks when I moved into my apartment last year before they could relax for the whole night), but I really wan't thrilled about getting up for work this morning (the one day I had to be here at 8am to install phone lines... of course).
I have to applaud Aliza, because I know that living with pets was never at the top of her wish list, and she has been incredibly patient throughout all of this. If she can survive the next week or two without the cats driving her crazy, I think we'll all be okay.
Comments
I know this may sound cruel, but you could consider confining them to one room, a second bedroom or bathroom, at night. Give them a chance to feel secure and create a sense of territory, and let you sleep at the same time.
Just for a couple of weeks.
Posted by: Matthew | July 18, 2006 01:49 PM
Yeah, I think we're going to keep them out of the bedroom at night until everyone's a little more settled. The second bedroom is a cat-free room in general so that if we have guests they won't have to deal with cat hair. So at night the cats can sleep in the living room, where their beds are set up.
At least for now.
Posted by: Daniel | July 19, 2006 01:48 PM