DIY Project: Present for the Kitty-Kids

One of the things I love most about the Sous Chef is his creativity; he loves coming up with designs and making that idea into reality.  It was his idea to use reclaimed wood to spruce up our pot and pan storage.  He was also the mastermind behind the design of the back-splash tiling in our kitchen and our indoor herb garden.

Long story short, the man is good with his hands.  I can't wait to show you the water feature he's installing on our balcony.

His artistry doesn't stop at things that the two of us use; this week, he decided to make a special present for our two favorite little ones:

Excerpt from "The Day The Garden Died"

As you can see, these two love spending time out on our balcony.  Last fall, when we put their balcony jungle to bed for the season, they were, to say the least, disappointed.

But now that the warmer weather has returned, they're back out on their favorite second-floor slice of heaven.  Unfortunately, along with warmer weather comes the Winged Bloodsucking Beasts, otherwise known as mosquitoes.  Leaving the screen door open for the little ones to come and go as they please has proven to be a very itchy situation for the Sous Chef and me.

Not to mention the Giant Winged Stinging Beast (otherwise known as Wasp) that infiltrated our condo during my Spring Break, when I was home alone and the Sous Chef wasn't there to protect me.

I can still hear the buzzing.

We don't want to deprive our cats of the joys of stalking birds and swatting at Winged Beasts all season.  But with higher populations of mosquitoes expected this summer and my intense fear of anything with a homicidal rear end, the Sous Chef and I knew we had to come up with a better solution.

So with a little bit of this and a little bit of that, we had our answer:  A kitty cat door, cut right out of our screen, reinforced with pieces of spare wood.

A bit trashy, yes, but my skin and blood cells are already thanking me.

I have to admit, the cats weren't exactly eager to try out the new system.  It took quite a lot of convincing on our part, with the Sous Chef and I working as a team, one on each side of the door.

We called them.

We showed them how the door swung back and forth.

We even held it open for them so they could walk through without even pushing it.

We tried everything short of using a stuffed animal to demonstrate proper technique.  Alas, nothing worked.

My cats are smart, and they know exactly how to get what they want.

So we brought out the treats.

That worked like a charm.

I'm still not sure which of us received training that day, but I have a feeling it was the Sous Chef and me.