Further to Moe and CSI

Well, that little Moe of ours continues to foil our best efforts. On Wednesday of this week, I had made an appointment for the carpet cleaners to come reapply their stuff to remove the last of the smell. It was heavenly...well, at least heavenly after I was able to air out the fumes. By evening, the carpet was dry and I was anxious to get the room set up again. (Note: We had just gotten cable a few days before and I really just wanted to relax in front of the tv. As a secondary note: apparently we had free cable but didn't notice. Oops). I digress...

I had gotten everything ready and was just waiting for Jason to finish applying the "goop" to the upstairs floor. (see Further to Renovations in next posting). So, while I waited, I was sitting in my IKEA chair with my feet up and a blanket around me watching...yes, you guessed it...CSI. Moe, the cute cuddly feline, was exploring the room and sniffing everywhere. I was watching him more intently than I was watching the show. Moe would sniff, and then he would leave. He would return, sniff in places and then leave. After a while I figured he just couldn't find the spots that he remembered marking. I thought "Great! problem solved". Ahhh...silly human that I am. I begin to relax and watch the program on tv. Sure enough, I notice Moe adopting a particularly familiar stance - one that he uses when in the litter box. I immediately get up, see that he is peeing on the carpet and scare him out of the room in mid-pee. Thank goodness his peeing stopped while he was running away. Amidst a series of curses and scoldings, Jason asks innocently from upstairs "What's wrong?" Amidst more curses and scoldings, Jason realizes what Moe has done. I sopped things up and applied vinegar and water. Sadly, the combination of Moe and the vinegar made my room, which had just moments before smelled pretty, smell gross.

Given my anger and frustration, Moe was immediately placed back in his isolation room. He is still there. I didn't need the black light to help me find the spot this time. Jason and I will be going to purchase moth-ball crystals (which my vet handout said was a good thing to discourage cats from re-offending) before we let Moe back out. Even once we do, I think we will restrict his access. In the last few days that Moe has had free range of the house (with the exception of the carpeted room), his behaviour has been exemplary. Sigh. Hopefully moth-balls will work.