Monday, February 20, 2012

On Cats in Ceilings

Mateo and I debated what we could tackle this weekend, but then the cat decided for us. Yup. The cat.

Remember the stairs?

Well, the basement's drop ceiling actually hangs lower than the opening for the stairs. (We looked at raising it, but there isn't enough room due to duct work, in case you are curious.)

We knew we would close this in, but we were more concerned about finishing the stairs themselves. After trying the brown kraft paper technique from Lovely Crafty Home, I had to admit that for whatever reason, it will not work on these stairs.
It just keeps peeling off.

Then, one day I couldn't find the cat, but we'd had some tv repairmen in the house, and she always hides when strangers are around. But after they left, I still couldn't find her.

Later, she sauntered around -- sneezing.
 Weird noises at night that night.

Next day, the cat disappears again. (And I knew she wasn't getting out; she's a scaredy cat who won't go out.) She's Mateo's cat really. So he goes down the stairs calling her, and suddenly she's at the top of the stairs, but she didn't run up them and a ceiling tile crashes down.

The darn beast was playing IN the ceiling!

That did it. New plan. Seal the ceiling.

This was a Matt project. He used some leftover lumber to make a box that would match the little bit that already existed.

Then he took some scrap paneling and filled in the front so it would have the same matching panel lines.

Next up will be priming and painting it all. But Matt had to hammer some nails at weird angles, so he was ready to be done.

At least Tesla can't climb into the ceiling anymore.

And, yes, she's a bit miffed about the whole thing right now. :)

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9 comments:

  1. Wow! I've never heard of that one before!! I would say that was a good project to get done. It's a good thing kitty didn't get stuck. Also, my husband would love the cat's name....he's a huge Tesla fan.

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    2. Jen @ Domesticated NomadFeb 21, 2012 05:11 AM

      Jennifer, this is too funny. I wasn't sure if I had the heart to tell your husband that Tesla is not named after the band (but who doesn't love a good '80s power ballad?). Tesla was named after Niccola Tesla, the physicist, or actually more accurately Tesla was named after the magnetic field unit bearing Tesla's name.

      On a trip to Niagara Falls, my scientist husband made me look at this big magnet that had something to do with producing (or storing?) electricity at the falls developed by Tesla. Fast forward several years and we get our cat, who as a kitten had these kinky white hairs that stood out all over her black fur so she looked like she stuck a paw in a light socket. I love coming up with esoteric names for pets, so the electricity made me think of Tesla and thus the name for the cat. :) But, your husband can believe it's all about the band if he wants too.

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  2. This cracked me up. Our dog is a "helper" when we do our projects and is constantly getting into stuff. Visiting from Sumo's Sweet Stuff.

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  3. Haha! I know this situation well! Our cat made it into the drop ceiling in the laundry room and also into the attic and got covered in insulation! They're sneaky! :)

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  4. Cat in the ceiling? That's a new one! I've had a chinchilla in the wall and a hermit crab in the heating vents but never a cat in the ceiling [only in the cupboards]

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  5. so silly! my boyfriend told me his cat used to hang out in the drop ceiling in their basement. so bizarre!

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  6. Looks like Tesla is going to have to find a new hiding place. Loved reading about her hijinks and how it was a catalyst (no pun intended) for your home project.

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