What are the ways cats can break our delicate stuff?

There’s the mad dash across the table, either alone or in a game of chase.

But there’s also our own actions that can get stuff broken.

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In our case, we can sin by omission, such as leaving our most treasured and delicate objects in clear activity paths.

All by itself in the middle of a table? Tempting target.

Tucked into an doored bookcase? Call it safe.

But we might not realize we can also sin by commission when we trigger a panicked reaction in the cat. When we see them sitting quietly in the middle of our Hummel collection, what is our first reaction?

That might be what does the damage.

One of the things cats acquire as they mature is the quality of self-control. Combined with their considerable skills in agility, this lets the cats insinuate themselves into any number of places we might not want them to be in. What should our reaction be?

Most of the time, acting panicked ourselves will panic the cat. And what is the cat’s reaction to panic? Leaving the scene as fast as possible.

This isn’t usually best for the scene.

To have both cats and tschotkes means we must commit to giving both what they need. Our knicknacks want to be displayed where we can enjoy them, and our cats want good perches and lookout points. Often, this will be the same place.

I don’t have many precious breakables, but the ones I do have are in doored bookcases or stored away until I get another doored bookcase. Having cats is one factor in this lifestyle, and my own clumsiness is another. We can protect our nerves by displaying our treasures out of harm’s way, and the upside is they require less dusting that way.

When we might find cats in delicate circumstances, such as curled up among our computer wires, it can be tempting to make a big noisy fuss so the cat won’t hang out there anymore. There are two drawbacks to this approach.

We can have nice things, and nice cats.

Just not in the same place, at the same time.

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