Assembly. . . or Not

I've got a half-finished cabinet lying on its side in the middle of my living room. I think the current TV stand is laughing at it. Or at me.

Everything ground to a halt because while I remembered to borrow Dad's power screwdriver (which the instructions keep "telling" me I can't use--stupid slash-mark picture...), I forgot to borrow the level. (I think this article is getting it wrong with that caption on the photo at the top.)

The other complication? Well, I decided to vacuum before I started putting furniture together, and silly me, I thought The Cat was securely ensconced in the pots and pans cabinet and wouldn't notice. Out of sight, out of mind. Nooooo, she made a bee-line for the top of the fridge, and when that was not comforting enough for her, she tried to make a break for it.

At which point she jumped down onto the counter and her back legs went out from under her. Yeah, ever since she started getting steroid shots, her one back leg has been a little unsteady for a few days after she gets a new shot. But both legs seemed affected this time. She had kind of an odd expression on her face, too. I switched off the vacuum but she was already scrambling across the kitchen floor--I don't know why she does that; once when she was woozy after anaesthesia, she kept trying to walk. She's so darn stubborn and has a one-track mind, I guess.

Finally she stopped when she got to the other side of a stereo box in the living room. Her head was wobbling as if she were dizzy. If her mission was to freak me out, she succeeded. I figured she wasn't going anywhere, so I quickly put the vacuum back in the closet, and when I came back to the living room, she already had tucked herself behind the patio door curtains with a look that said, "What? Nothing to see here."

I'm hoping she just got herself all stressed out over the vacuum, and combined with her still-overactive thyroid, she just had a little fit. It didn't look like a seizure. But this is all I need--I just talked to my friend today about catsitting while I take a quick trip to see my grandfather this week. I don't want to be reluctant to leave her for fear she'll get stressed out over my absence and have another fit.

Of course, I'm also mad at her now, because she spit out her afternoon pill. She has been pretty much unreceptive to taking a second dose of her medicine--I dunno, maybe she's more starving at 4 a.m. and will eat anything--and I've had enough. I'll call the vet tomorrow and see about getting a liquid form of her meds to mix into her food. She has got to calm the heck down.

Because if kitty ain't calm, ain't nobody calm around here.


Comments

Anonymous said…
It's so frustrating to get into the zone and started on a project and then realize you don't have everything you need to finish! Good luck getting it knocked out, and I hope kitty gets some meds that she'll actually take.
Rob said…
Medicating any kind of pet daily is a pain, but especially cats. Their moods swing from one extreme to another, something that they don't care about one day sends them to the moon the next, and if they really don't want to take their medicine, there two things you can do.

1) Skip it
2) Force it and then go tend to your wounds

Hope she's doing better. Mine doesn't like the vacuum, either, but he really runs from the doorbell.
Dave E. said…
In the last month, for my dad, I've put together a recliner/ottoman plus magazine rack from Slumberland, and a bookshelf from Target.

In all cases, the parts were packaged by step and I was shocked to find that nothing was missing. Not only that, all of the holes matched up properly and everything fit together. I've been hugely impressed with the suppliers for both stores. I haven't bought anything from IKEA, but I'll definitely ask to see how it's packaged first now.

I hope The Cat is doing okay. When pets get up there in age it is tough and kind of scary to see them not quite handle the physical moves that they used to.
Kate P said…
Angela--I took a good look at everything today, and decided that I don't need the level until I get it in place (to see if it needs shims). . . however, I do need a DRILL to run the wiring out the back of the unit. I am baffled, because IKEA's usually pretty good about that sort of thing.
And thanks--I hope I can get the kitty's meds settled soon, too.

Rob--"sends them to the moon" is so true! I would totally let her skip a dose if she'd been at this dosage for a while and her symptoms weren't raging right now. (Can't seem to get her to see that, though.)
I had no idea a doorbell would bother a cat, but now that you say it, I could see how that's possible!

Dave--IKEA is all about minimal packaging. Step-by-step would be extremely helpful, but not a chance!
And yeah, lately it's been hard to determine what can be attributed to aging, to hyperthyroidism, or to cancer. It SUCKS.
ccr in MA said…
I'm so sorry about the drama! Poor kitty and poor you. Our cats don't seem to have a realistic view of what will hurt them.
Kate P said…
I know, CCR--that vacuum is actually the quietest one I've ever owned, but maybe it's still really loud and scary to her!

Popular Posts