Cats in the Crawl Space
Tuesday, January 31st, 2023 11:11 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
snoozefestaudioA very sunny day today, from start to finish... but like all sunny days in mid winter, that meant it was cold as hell! It was only 11F out there, when I got up, but as I write tonight, it's down to 02F, and will drop to negative one.
It being the 31st of January, my thoughts finally returned to the utility bills, so I was online consulting Michael's spreadsheet he'd made a month ago, on his and Sheila's first visit to see dad on home hospice, just before New Year.
I paid the electric, gas, and trash bills, but got stuck on the water bill, because it wasn't set up yet with a payment method.
I took a break and went down to walk Yvette around 11AM... and it was a quick walk, because it was so cold outside... just around the back yard for a bit, and back inside.
I grabbed the mail on my way back in and was sitting at the kitchen table looking it over.
Tim was still asleep.
I heard a meyowing coming from somewhere... sounded like Snoop, but it was strangely muted. Where was he? In Tim's room? Upstairs? I kept checking around but could only hear him from the kitchen.
I checked down in the basement, and instead found Prowly down there... meyowing at me in his different, more insistant voice. Was it just Prowly I'd been hearing up in the kitchen?
He seemed bothered, but... he's been seeming bothered a lot lately, because he's been wanting to go outside.
I went back upstairs and he followed me, but then ran back down to the basement as if he wanted me to follow him, so I went back down there.
Prowly then went over to the soutwest corner, where I'd installed the slop sink in 2021, hopped up on the sink... still meyowling at me... and then darted into the hole near the top of the wall, where the furnace ductwork goes into the crawl space under the kitchen!
--< S I D E B A R >--
So, the basement is only under the two-story part of the house, but there is also the, "south wing," which includes the music room, downstairs bathroom, and kitchen.
That south wing has a crawl space underneath it. And there is a hole punched out of the basement wall for plumbing, electrical, and ductwork to get from the basement into that crawlspace, and out to the rest of the house.
Now!..
I had thought this hole was too high up for the cats to get to. I knew it was possible for them to maybe get to it from the slop sink, but... I didn't think they'd actually notice or care?.. I dunno.
But I must also tell you that in that crawl space under the kitchen, there is an old fucking brick cistern!
Cisterns predate indoor plumbing, and were a way for people in the late 1800s to collect and store rainwater.
At ground level in the crawl space, the opening to the old rain cistern is not all that big, but, below ground, it widens out... like a huge vase... and goes ten feet deep!
That small opening had been covered by a plank, by some ancestor or another, back when they stopped using it, in the 1920s, but... that plank didn't completely cover the opening!
--< E N D S I D E B A R >--
As soon I saw Prowly take off into the crawl space, I ran up to the kitchen and threw open the trap door in the kitchen floor, near the sink up there!
Prowly was surprised to see me, and hopped right out, but now I could hear Snoop quite clearly... calling to me from THE BOTTOM OF THE CISTERN!!!
HOLY JESUS CHRIST, NO!
I ran upstairs to grab my flashlight and came back down to see for certain... yep! Snoop was down in the bottom of that cistern, just milling around, and meyowing to get out!
Luckily he wasn't hurt. The drop may be ten feet, but for a young cat, that's nothing.
Still.. Snoop had no way out! I had to save him!
--<>--
I ran out to the shed to grab the poly rope I'd used for the fallen Mulberry last fall, and then when it was in the kitchen I grabbed a wicker basket from the music room. I lowered the basket down to Snoop!
Holding my flashlight, I was like, "Get into the basket kitty!"
But Snoop was being an idiot about it, and would only sniff the basket and walk around it, while still complaining that he was stuck in this dark, dirty pit!
Prowly, meanwhile was hopping in and out of the trap door hole, occasionally looking down into the cistern with me... seemingly glad that I had understood his brother was in trouble... and that I was now on the case.
But the basket was a bit too small, and too shallow! Snoop didn't see it as a proper thing to get onto or into!
Standing in the crawl space... the upper half of my torso above the floor... I noticed to my left, a cardboard box full of baby wipes that I'd bought for Dad!
I dumped out the wipes... cut some holes in the box... tied twine to the holes... brought the four strands of twine up to a point and tied them together... and then tied my rope to that!... so that it was like a rescue box you'd lower from a helicopter.
I then opened a can of tuna, and put it into the box, before lowering it down into the cistern.
FINALLY... snoop crawled into the box, to get the tuna, and I was able to lift him up out of the cistern!
When the rescue box emerged from the mouth of the brick cistern, Snoop jumped out and ran off into the crawl space, under the music room... and the can of tuna flopped over into the dirt.
--<>--
Tim was awake by this point, and sitting at the kitchen table, following the action. So I had him sit at the edge of the trap door hole with the flashlight on the cistern to make sure neither Snoop, nor Prowly came back near it... and I ran down into the basement and grabbed several pieces of scrap plywood.
A minute later, I was putting the scrap plywood over the mouth of the cistern... after confirming that both cats were safe... and covered the opening completely.
Then I grabbed several heavy hunks of limestone and brick, which are lying around in the crawl space in great abundance, and put them over the boards to weigh them down.
------------{=0=}------------
Back in 2021, I'd spent a lot of time down in this crawl space, fixing gaps in the foundation, and closing off connections to the crawl space under the back room, and the crawl space under the porch.
I'd done all that in the name of keeping it warmer down there below the kitchen, so... today I knew that... with the mouth of the cistern safely boarded over, with heavy rocks no cat can overturn...
It was now safe for them to explore the crawl space to their hearts content.
And that they did!... on an off for the rest of the day and the night!
--<>--
Snoop & Prowly spent five months, quarantined to the usptairs with me... only able to explore the downstairs for small periods every evening, when I was having a beer with Dad after work.
Just before Dad's death, they gained 24 hour access to the downstairs, to help with the mouse invasion that was going on.
And then just this past weekend, they gained 24 hour access to the basement as well!
The crawl space, under the south wing, was the final frontier!.. and they discovered it this morning.
After a day of exploring it, Snoop & Prowly now know this house as well as, or better, than any other cat who's lived here, the past 140 years.
And the mice?.. now have NOWHERE to hide!
The only other thing I have to say about all this is... Prowly did a great job of telling me Snoop was in danger... but was also kind of surprised that I was able to yank out a huge hunk of the floor and join them both down there so easily!
We are a team! We work together! Hopefully, they'll keep that in mind when it's time to introduce them to the world outside the house!
------------{=0=}------------
After the great Snoop Cistern Crisis... Tim and I got into my car to run some important errands before I had to go to work.
We made a quick stop to Walgreens to get a few things, and then over to Supermercado El Paso Grande for twelve more garbage stickers, as it was garbage night tonight.
But after that, we ran out to the dealership where he'd sold Dad's car yesterday and picked up his check for five grand.
Tim was originally thinking of driving Dad's car back to Nevada, and giving it to his daughter, but... wasn't sure if it was up to the cross country drive. He decided it was better just to sell it, and use the money to get home, and help his daughter get a car that way.
I agree, he made the right call. And he got top dollar! I figured the most you could get for Dad's old Dart would be two grand, but Tim managed to get five grand, by doing his research, and shopping around a bit.
------------{=0=}------------
Another typical Tuesday at work for me, this evening, but because we'd run errands beforehand, I was able to go straight home afterward.
Over dinner, we worked out our strategy for the rest of the week... mostly to do with financial issues, which for me, are more pressing, because it's the start of a new month.
And then we took out the garbage... in 03F degree cold!
In addition to the two standard bins, tonight... ten more bags of garbage, and two other items; a geriatric shower stool, and a ratty plant stand.
Of those ten bags of garbage... two were extra household waste, one was paint project related waste, and the other SEVEN came out of Tim's sorting through Mom & Dad's old shit in all the cabinets and drawers downstairs.
He's put together several bins of stuff worth keeping, but... those seven bags of trash were mostly religious propoganda & paraphenalia... with a bag or two of old greeting cards.
°¦}
https://soundcloud.com/snoozefestaudio
It being the 31st of January, my thoughts finally returned to the utility bills, so I was online consulting Michael's spreadsheet he'd made a month ago, on his and Sheila's first visit to see dad on home hospice, just before New Year.
I paid the electric, gas, and trash bills, but got stuck on the water bill, because it wasn't set up yet with a payment method.
I took a break and went down to walk Yvette around 11AM... and it was a quick walk, because it was so cold outside... just around the back yard for a bit, and back inside.
I grabbed the mail on my way back in and was sitting at the kitchen table looking it over.
Tim was still asleep.
I heard a meyowing coming from somewhere... sounded like Snoop, but it was strangely muted. Where was he? In Tim's room? Upstairs? I kept checking around but could only hear him from the kitchen.
I checked down in the basement, and instead found Prowly down there... meyowing at me in his different, more insistant voice. Was it just Prowly I'd been hearing up in the kitchen?
He seemed bothered, but... he's been seeming bothered a lot lately, because he's been wanting to go outside.
I went back upstairs and he followed me, but then ran back down to the basement as if he wanted me to follow him, so I went back down there.
Prowly then went over to the soutwest corner, where I'd installed the slop sink in 2021, hopped up on the sink... still meyowling at me... and then darted into the hole near the top of the wall, where the furnace ductwork goes into the crawl space under the kitchen!
So, the basement is only under the two-story part of the house, but there is also the, "south wing," which includes the music room, downstairs bathroom, and kitchen.
That south wing has a crawl space underneath it. And there is a hole punched out of the basement wall for plumbing, electrical, and ductwork to get from the basement into that crawlspace, and out to the rest of the house.
Now!..
I had thought this hole was too high up for the cats to get to. I knew it was possible for them to maybe get to it from the slop sink, but... I didn't think they'd actually notice or care?.. I dunno.
But I must also tell you that in that crawl space under the kitchen, there is an old fucking brick cistern!
Cisterns predate indoor plumbing, and were a way for people in the late 1800s to collect and store rainwater.
At ground level in the crawl space, the opening to the old rain cistern is not all that big, but, below ground, it widens out... like a huge vase... and goes ten feet deep!
That small opening had been covered by a plank, by some ancestor or another, back when they stopped using it, in the 1920s, but... that plank didn't completely cover the opening!
As soon I saw Prowly take off into the crawl space, I ran up to the kitchen and threw open the trap door in the kitchen floor, near the sink up there!
Prowly was surprised to see me, and hopped right out, but now I could hear Snoop quite clearly... calling to me from THE BOTTOM OF THE CISTERN!!!
HOLY JESUS CHRIST, NO!
I ran upstairs to grab my flashlight and came back down to see for certain... yep! Snoop was down in the bottom of that cistern, just milling around, and meyowing to get out!
Luckily he wasn't hurt. The drop may be ten feet, but for a young cat, that's nothing.
Still.. Snoop had no way out! I had to save him!
I ran out to the shed to grab the poly rope I'd used for the fallen Mulberry last fall, and then when it was in the kitchen I grabbed a wicker basket from the music room. I lowered the basket down to Snoop!
Holding my flashlight, I was like, "Get into the basket kitty!"
But Snoop was being an idiot about it, and would only sniff the basket and walk around it, while still complaining that he was stuck in this dark, dirty pit!
Prowly, meanwhile was hopping in and out of the trap door hole, occasionally looking down into the cistern with me... seemingly glad that I had understood his brother was in trouble... and that I was now on the case.
But the basket was a bit too small, and too shallow! Snoop didn't see it as a proper thing to get onto or into!
Standing in the crawl space... the upper half of my torso above the floor... I noticed to my left, a cardboard box full of baby wipes that I'd bought for Dad!
I dumped out the wipes... cut some holes in the box... tied twine to the holes... brought the four strands of twine up to a point and tied them together... and then tied my rope to that!... so that it was like a rescue box you'd lower from a helicopter.
I then opened a can of tuna, and put it into the box, before lowering it down into the cistern.
FINALLY... snoop crawled into the box, to get the tuna, and I was able to lift him up out of the cistern!
When the rescue box emerged from the mouth of the brick cistern, Snoop jumped out and ran off into the crawl space, under the music room... and the can of tuna flopped over into the dirt.
Tim was awake by this point, and sitting at the kitchen table, following the action. So I had him sit at the edge of the trap door hole with the flashlight on the cistern to make sure neither Snoop, nor Prowly came back near it... and I ran down into the basement and grabbed several pieces of scrap plywood.
A minute later, I was putting the scrap plywood over the mouth of the cistern... after confirming that both cats were safe... and covered the opening completely.
Then I grabbed several heavy hunks of limestone and brick, which are lying around in the crawl space in great abundance, and put them over the boards to weigh them down.
Back in 2021, I'd spent a lot of time down in this crawl space, fixing gaps in the foundation, and closing off connections to the crawl space under the back room, and the crawl space under the porch.
I'd done all that in the name of keeping it warmer down there below the kitchen, so... today I knew that... with the mouth of the cistern safely boarded over, with heavy rocks no cat can overturn...
It was now safe for them to explore the crawl space to their hearts content.
And that they did!... on an off for the rest of the day and the night!
Snoop & Prowly spent five months, quarantined to the usptairs with me... only able to explore the downstairs for small periods every evening, when I was having a beer with Dad after work.
Just before Dad's death, they gained 24 hour access to the downstairs, to help with the mouse invasion that was going on.
And then just this past weekend, they gained 24 hour access to the basement as well!
The crawl space, under the south wing, was the final frontier!.. and they discovered it this morning.
After a day of exploring it, Snoop & Prowly now know this house as well as, or better, than any other cat who's lived here, the past 140 years.
And the mice?.. now have NOWHERE to hide!
The only other thing I have to say about all this is... Prowly did a great job of telling me Snoop was in danger... but was also kind of surprised that I was able to yank out a huge hunk of the floor and join them both down there so easily!
We are a team! We work together! Hopefully, they'll keep that in mind when it's time to introduce them to the world outside the house!
After the great Snoop Cistern Crisis... Tim and I got into my car to run some important errands before I had to go to work.
We made a quick stop to Walgreens to get a few things, and then over to Supermercado El Paso Grande for twelve more garbage stickers, as it was garbage night tonight.
But after that, we ran out to the dealership where he'd sold Dad's car yesterday and picked up his check for five grand.
Tim was originally thinking of driving Dad's car back to Nevada, and giving it to his daughter, but... wasn't sure if it was up to the cross country drive. He decided it was better just to sell it, and use the money to get home, and help his daughter get a car that way.
I agree, he made the right call. And he got top dollar! I figured the most you could get for Dad's old Dart would be two grand, but Tim managed to get five grand, by doing his research, and shopping around a bit.
Another typical Tuesday at work for me, this evening, but because we'd run errands beforehand, I was able to go straight home afterward.
Over dinner, we worked out our strategy for the rest of the week... mostly to do with financial issues, which for me, are more pressing, because it's the start of a new month.
And then we took out the garbage... in 03F degree cold!
In addition to the two standard bins, tonight... ten more bags of garbage, and two other items; a geriatric shower stool, and a ratty plant stand.
Of those ten bags of garbage... two were extra household waste, one was paint project related waste, and the other SEVEN came out of Tim's sorting through Mom & Dad's old shit in all the cabinets and drawers downstairs.
He's put together several bins of stuff worth keeping, but... those seven bags of trash were mostly religious propoganda & paraphenalia... with a bag or two of old greeting cards.
°¦}
