This past weekend we went out and actually did a few things together on both days. Both days! That hasn’t happened in a long time. Saturday my back was really hurting quite a bit, but I had to get my roots done since they were starting to show and I needed jeans. My hair stylist still says my name wrong which drives me crazy. He pronounces it Roz-uh-lee. WTF. And as we were talking about things, he kept saying “could be worse” after I would say this or that. Hey, if I want to wallow in bullshit, just let me wallow in bullshit! Afterwards I bought a pair of jeans since the only ones I have has a hole in it. Though I wish I had lost a ton of weight and needed a smaller size, at least I stayed the same and didn’t need a larger size (like I used to wear not all that long ago). Sunday Mark didn’t have a baseball game and said it was too windy for him to ride his bike. That left more time for me which I was happy about since I was a hockey widow like three times this past week. We watched videos of Kip and went to an area park to do a joint product review/mother’s day outing where we did some walking around. The antisocial in me enjoyed that we had the whole place to ourselves (after one guy wandered off down one of the paths).
And over the weekend my baby crazies hit me again! I found this to be totally unfair because I was in way too much pain when they hit to even be able to handle any form of babysitting. Speaking of my back pain, I’ve been on methadone now for six days. I’ve had three okay days and three horrid ones. Now that could totally be a great sign of things to come. Maybe all I need is a dose increase or two and then I’ll be all set! Or, this could be like some other things I’ve tried in which I’ve had a few good days while a new drug was being introduced into my system and then BAM! But according to that new metabolism test, my body isn’t supposed to crash like that with this drug. I want to think positively about this. But I’ve been down this road before where I’ve gotten so excited and started thinking about my future and all the things I could do now if things stayed a certain way – only to be heartbroken in the end. So yeah. It’s still too early, and I could just be having a stretch of more good days than I’m used to. I just don’t know. But could you imagine?!
Though my mom and I aren’t on speaking terms except for an occasional email, I called her a few days before Mother’s Day (I thought that we weren’t going to be around until our plans changed). We ended up discussing that Mark and I are looking into finding my furbabies alternate housing for when we die. I told her about our research and current thoughts, and she said that she thought she was getting the pets. First off, she’s worse off than I am physically, and she just wouldn’t be able to handle it. Though she’s the only person on this planet that I trust to take care of them the exact same way that I do, there’s also the concern I have that my dad doesn’t close doors tightly behind him when he goes in and out. I’d be too afraid the cats would want to explore and attempt to dart outside. Besides, we are about setting something up that will be effective if we were to die now or if we were to die when we were seventy years-old, and they obviously won’t be around for that anyway.
I came across this quote (on Twitter maybe?) that said, “Time to put a little gratitude in the attitude!” I really like that. It’s a good reminder for when I let my negative thoughts overwhelm me.
I had never seen a cat tower like the Kitty’scape from Solvit Products before in my life, so I thought it was very awesome when we were given the opportunity to product review it! What makes it so different? It isn’t anything like the typical carpeted cat towers that are everywhere. It’s an attractive modular cat play structure that consists of wood pieces, fabric pieces, and plastic pieces. It can be configured in lots of different ways, and being able to change it up prevents cats from getting bored easily with it. Solvit Products also sells accessories for it, like an Adjustable Scratching Tray and an Adventure Bridge, so that you can keep adding to it. These platforms, columns, and add-ons are interchangeable. Even better is that no tools are required for assembly! Also, Solvit Products has a bunch of other great pet products too, like ramps, stairs, lifting aids, seat covers, booster seats, safety harnesses, pet strollers, and more!
Here is a photo of the Kitty’scape box:
Here’s a video where I take a closer look at it:
Included in the package: - 1 Kitty’scape Deluxe Kit (Model #62380) – Base platform; 2 Oval platforms; carpeted Half-oval platform, Penthouse Perch; 10 long columns, including 3 seagrass scratching columns; 4 short columns; Penthouse Canopy; Hammock Hideaway; teaser toy, and multiple connectors. Can reach up to 71” high. Weighs 30 lbs.
Here is some information about the Kitty’scape from its website:
“A Whole New Way for Cats to Play”
Kitty’scape is a whole new concept in cat play structures, giving cat owners the ability to assemble components any way they choose to build a custom play structure for their feline friends! A complete play structure can be assembled in just minutes with no tools.
The modular design of the Kitty’scape™ means the different columns, platforms, and accessories are interchangeable so they can be assembled in countless combinations to meet the needs of individual cat families. Platforms can be placed close together for kittens or older cats or further apart for more athletic and adventurous felines.
Cats are intelligent and inquisitive – satisfy their need to explore and keep them engaged by periodically re-configuring their playscape. Kitty’scape assembles and disassembles easily by hand so you can create an all-new structure in minutes. Designing and building your custom playscape is so much fun that the whole family will want to get involved.
It’s a fact of life that kids and cats can be rough on the furniture – with Kitty’scape™ it’s not a worry – if a piece wears out, just replace it – no more replacing an entire cat tree just because some parts are worn out!
Kitty’scape is available in a variety of starter kits and has a large and growing list of accessories. All the pieces work together so you can expand and create to your heart’s (and cat’s) content.
Here are photos of Mark assembling it for the first time:
Here are photos of the cats using their new cat structure in its first configuration:
Here are photos of Mark putting it together a second way:
And here are photos of the cats enjoying their Kitty’scape after it was redone:
Lastly, here is a video of Eva hanging out in one of its lounge areas:
The verdict? It’s a really, really cool cat structure, unlike anything I’ve ever seen. I’m used to really tall, heavy, and carpeted cat towers, and this is definitely not that. Being able to configure it in different ways to keep cats interested is awesome, and I also like the fact that there are additional accessories that can be purchased to keep it growing and ever-changing. It’s really easy to assemble, which is good for Mark because he hates putting things together. I like that I am able to slide it around, even with my back issues; in fact, one afternoon I moved it from the living room into the sunroom all by myself. If I could change one aspect of it, I would make the hooded areas larger so that they could accommodate bigger cats. My little girls (under 12 pounds) can fit into the canopies, but my big boys can only rest on the various platforms. That being said, all of my cats have definitely had fun on their new Kitty’scape, as the many pictures will attest to. If you purchase this particular product, please let me know what you think!
(Full disclosure – Solvit Products provided this item to us free of charge in exchange for a product review. Thanks!)
