More about Inkwell

I promise I won't turn into a full-time cat blogger. But we're still getting used to our new friend, so it's hard. I wrote about Inkwell in the paper today.

This afternoon when I got home I found Inkwell had claimed my chair in the living room, but seemed surprisingly happy to see me. He followed me upstairs, where I found Eric had forgotten to feed him. Not a surprise, this is new to Eric as well. Eric said Inky had been VERY active, getting in his way, running around his feet, jumping on the kitchen counter and generally making himself a proper nuisance like a proper kitten.

After I fed him, he played a little, then settled down in the crook of my arm...

His absolute favorite spot, if he can get it, is the crook of someone's elbow. He gets heavy after a bit.

At work I told my co-worker, M, who talked me into taking care of Inkwell in the first place that I really needed to get a scratching post, so she took me over into the pressroom and cut up a cardboard box, explaining that she was making a redneck scratching pad. She stacked the sheets of cardboard into a little pile, then used the machine that straps the bundles of newspapers together to strap the pile into a block.

While we were doing this, the pressman came over and mentioned there was scrap material over along the wall. M went over and found a roll that is the remains of a huge roll of paper. The paper for the press comes on these rolls that are larger than most people, and the cardboard center is really very strong. M handed me one of those, and then found a plug of wood that would fit in one end. She had me hold the roll while she used a board to whack the plug into the roll. Then she took the board over to the pressman, who found some nails and made a base for the redneck scratching post.

The roll is one that newsprint comes on, the base was nailed to the bottom by the pressman. The remaining paper is still on the roll.

Right after I got off work, M told me to go to the local flooring place and ask for scrap carpet. I headed out, asked, and they suggested I check the dumpster. I found three clean and likely pieces out there and took them home. Two are kind of odd-shaped and I've put them along the couch, but the third was a strip. I found some nails and nailed the sucker to the post in a spiral.

The scrap of carpet goes around the post successfully, with a bit of extra lumpiness at the bottom.

Happy with my handiwork, I tried to get Inkwell interested in it. He was unimpressed, even when Eric showed him the trick of it.

Eric confuses a cat by trying to show him how to use a scratching post.

I went and snagged one of the bags of kitten treats, and put one on the base. Inky gobbled it up. I put another up on the top of the "lump". Inky found it and gobbled. I stuck one along the edge of the carpet a little higher up. Inky reached up with his claws and found the piece by pulling himself up, then did a bit of comfy scratching on the post. I suspect it won't take long to train him to use it, if we want to.

As I write this, this is where Inkwell is, right on my lap curled up enjoying my presence.

I still can't believe we have a kitten.