tuesday night project

I've been having some problems with both Stella and Magnus up to their old tricks of inappropriate elimination. I think they are in a literal pissing contest. This is upsetting, frustrating, and actually a little costly as I spend a lot of time and a few US dollars on cleanup supplies which don't always seem to get the stains out. Not to mention countless evenings trolling around my house with a blacklight trying to find any spot that would explain the lingering odors. Sigh.

It was suggested to me that perhaps Stella's problem is that she is anxious, and that actually makes sense to me. But before we head off to the vet for another $300 visit just to find out that vet won't give me an anti-anxiety medicine for her, I decided to revamp her living arrangements. I'm moving her food out of the basement and back upstairs. Now, the reason I had it in the basement in the first place is that Magnus can and will get to it in every other location I've tried so far. But this time, I've decided to foil him by installing a gate to block his access to the upstairs. I hope this works. I think we all know that he can jump this thing. I'm just hoping he chooses not to. The other thing is, he's been slinking off up the stairs himself even though there isn't food up there anymore, and leaving little puddles that I sometimes only find out about from the smell. So hopefully this little gate will kill two birds with one stone so I don't have to kill two pets with my bare hands.