I think we have reached peak stuff around my place. Not that we have a lot. But there are signs. At least in my mind.
Yesterday, we got a cat fountain. This is not a statue that spits out cats. It is a water dish you have to plug in. It then circulates the water with a small waterfall so cats can drink from it. Apparently because cats like running water.
Now I should explain, first we got new cats. The old cat left. I was perfectly happy with the old cat. She was a very nice cat, we got along very well. But she was a borrowed cat. A Covid cat, if you will. She belonged to someone who moved elsewhere at the first of the pandemic, but wasn’t prepared to take the cat. So we were asked to cat sit. We had cats before, but were catless at the time, so we gave the cat a home. That cat recently moved to be with her person, so we were again catless.
One family member decided we needed a cat and found someone who was handing out kittens. So we got a new cat. Actually, we got two cats. I’m not sure why, but there are currently two little black fluff balls wandering around the house. If you look really closely, one of them has a small white mark on the chest, so you can, with close study, tell one from the other.
For the first few days, these cats seemed quite content to share a water dish with the dog. The dog was not overly thrilled with the cats, but she puts up with them.
But it was decided the cats needed a cat fountain. Drinking from a large bowl with pictures of dogs on the side would not do. So a cat fountain appeared.
We have many other pet oriented things around the house. There is a dog mat for the dog to sleep on. I’m not sure she has ever used it, especially given the amount of dig hair on the rugs and furniture. There is a scratching post for the cats, various toys for both dogs and cats. Many of these things just see to find ways to move from one location to another, but you rarely see the animals doing anything with them.
This has lead me to believe that many of these toys are not really meant for dogs or cats, but are more for the people who own dogs and cats. Dogs seem to like things like tennis balls and cats seem to enjoy things like empty boxes. They really have very simple tastes. People, on the other hand, seem to think they need stuff.
I will not say I am totally innocent in all this. I have bought the odd toy myself for both dogs and cats. Just because it looked like something they would enjoy.
But I think with the cat fountain we have finally hit peak stuff for the pets. Maybe even gone over the top.
