Brandon, being the reincarnation of an English butler, has long been quietly repulsed by the old cat tree in our den. It came to the house when Sarge and Emmett were kittens and has had 10 years of constant cat love. It is built like a Soviet prison bloc, been scratched down to the wood, and is prone to releasing great puffs of shredded carpet fibers throughout the day.

To make him happy I splurged on a new Mau Pets cat tree. He thinks it looks like a work of art and happily spent Friday night putting it together. It has baskets, removable and washable fuzzy cushions, and is taller than the old one. The cats watched with an initial flurry of great interest which shifted to alarm and then distress when the old cat tree was moved to the basement.

So far – the cats have not used the new tree. I’ve promised any early adopter some extra shrimpy treats but nope. Instead we’ve found them in various places to sleep- a basket of dirty laundry. On the floor a few paces from the new tree.

And lastly, down in the basement sitting in the old one looking reproachful.

We’ve started a pool to see how long it takes them to forgive us.