Laundry baskets

[desperance]

I bought a new laundry basket on the way home today.

Thing is, it's not that long at all since I bought the previous laundry basket; but - as I have reported here before - first Barry and then Mac applied themselves with rigour to its utter demolition. As someone else commented here, cats hate wicker. Hatehatehate! And cats are smarter than wicker. Smartsmartsmart! Hence my house is full of little bits of wicker, and the basket-as-was has lost both its handles and the whole of the rim/hem thing around the top and can be frayed away in entire courses at once, hurrah! *cat pokes Chaz with long curl of wicker*

So I bought a new one. It's plastic. Also, it's significantly taller & thinner than the previous. When I bought it, I thought, "it'll be a smart cat that can jump into this. Or jump out again."

I left it in the bedroom with the old one. Went back twenty minutes later. Barry sitting in the old one; Mac sitting in the new one. Which has almond-shaped holes in it, just big enough for a paw to poke through. They had lots of fun, poking. In and out. I'm still impressed that he managed the jumps in and out without knocking it over, but hey. He's a cat.

Thing is, though, I can't quite bring myself to get rid of the old one. Not in any hoarding it-might-come-in-useful kind of way - it is long past any use at all - but they're still having such fun with it, every night more demolition. And the house is already full of wicker splinters, so it's not going to make anything worse if I just leave it till they're done...

Comments

[moral-vacuum.livejournal.com]

My (remaining) cat is NOT smarter than wicker. She had a claw stuck in our laundry basket earlier and was most distressed until we released her.

You're right about about the remaining laundry basket. It keeps them happy, and God alone knows what else they'll start destroying if you get rid of it.

[mountainlaurel.livejournal.com]

Yes, since they are having such fun, and it is keeping them occupied and out of more important things like kitchens and kitchen cabinets, I agree you should leave it for a little while longer.

[desperance.livejournal.com]

Hee. Defeated by wicker. It's not good, is it?

And yes, I think the old basket has to stay. I can hear one of them grinding it down as we speak. It's an occupation for their tiny minds (see! we are smarter than wicker! we can defeat it!!).

Defeated by wicker. Snigger...

[dedbutdrmng.livejournal.com]

I wonder if wicker may deflect Keith from his hatred of the couch?

[moral-vacuum.livejournal.com]

Of course not. It will merely generate extra hatred.

[janetmk.livejournal.com]

Keeping the wicker basket to entertain the cats makes perfect sense to me.

[fidelioscabinet.livejournal.com]

I have found that this sort of wicker laundry basket is more cat-durable than other designs.
http://community.livejournal.com/cat_macros/3247432.html?nc=1

However, it would be wrong to toss the one you have before they've finished killing and dismembering it.

[handworn.livejournal.com]

Well, as was said two thousand years ago, there is no rest for the wicker.

[desperance.livejournal.com]

*g* Thank you, sir. May I have another?