The winds of change are rustling through our home.

Pink has transitioned. Lexie followed that up by becoming incontinent. And Charlie has developed a taste for cable channel lineup guides. More about that later.

Of course we notice Pink’s absence in multiple ways. But awkwardly enough, the most telling way is through the lack of smell. Pink was by no means a stinky cat. But now that she’s gone, the house smells different. And the basement, where we kept her litter box, definitely has a brighter odor.

But any olfactory gains we have made were quickly overshadowed by Lexie’s returning incontinence.

Cleaning up

Two days ago, when I had to get up at a horrid hour for work, I rolled out of bed an stepped into a cold puddle in the carpet. I quickly turned on the light, and saw a pee spot on the floor, accompanied by what appeared to be a pee waterfall that started atop Lex’s dog bed. My slippers and a nearby decorative pillow were collateral damage.

I quickly ran downstairs and grabbed cleaning supplies. I had about 15 minutes before I had to start working from home, so I had to act fast. I soaked up as much as I could with paper towel, then sprayed the carpet with cleaner. I heard a noise, and looked up from scrubbing. Matt was snoring though the entire episode. Then I heard a groan. I looked over my shoulder, and saw Lex curled up tight in her pee-soaked bed. She would sleep through the cleanup, as well.

I have to admit, I haven’t been really good about giving Lex her Proin, a medication to help with incontinence. Especially in the last week, since she started eating again! Two full meals a day. I found this so divinely distracting that I forgot to give her medicine. Bad mommy. So after this first pee incident, I started up with the Proin again.

Yesterday morning when we got up, we found Lex on the couch sleeping in a puddle of her pee. Man. The up side is that we plan on getting a new couch soon. The down side is that we need to keep this couch alive for a bit longer, and Lex treats it as her favorite spot on Earth. With her burrowing tendencies, I’m guessing blue pads will not be an option.

The cleanup required a two-prong approach. We stripped the couch and started a wash in the basement. Then I grabbed a sleeping bag Pink had transformed into a kitty bed, while Matt gathered both dog beds. We piled everything into the bed of Matt’s truck and headed to the laundromat.

Both Matt and I were surprised by the buildup of filth on the beds. The dark-tan beds faded to an almost-white color by the time they were done tumbling in the dryer. We both agreed we would give the pups a (much-needed?) bath, and try to wash the beds more often.

Little destroyer

A couple weeks ago we changed cable providers. We managed a good deal, and now have three times as many channels for considerably less money each month. Matt and I celebrated.

Charlie provided the confetti. Made of our channel lineup sheet.

Oh well, we said. We had a second sheet, so we didn’t worry too much.

A couple days later, Matt and I had to leave him alone for 12 hours. This was the longest we had ever left him on his own. When we got home, we looked around, and sighed in relief. It looked like the place was perfectly intact.

Sadly, later that evening, we discovered Charlie had chewed open the corner of a mission-style chair in the front room. Uugh.

Then yesterday when we came home from a quick jaunt to the store, Charlie knocked several plants to the floor when he hopped down from looking for us out the front window. Three pots shattered, sending soil across the floor and under the couch.

As we surveyed the damage, we noticed more confetti. The second cable lineup sheet. Now rendered useless by our little destroyer.

We could no longer deny it. Charlie’s separation anxiety was rearing its ugly head again. We decided to go to Petco and buy a kibble/treat toy. Basically we fill this purple rubber tube with treats, and it takes him hours to figure out how to get them out.

It seems to be working for now.

But sensing we need serious backup, Matt and I have found a dog trainer. Classes start in October. Here’s to hoping our house walls don’t collapse before then.

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