Cichlid Jeans
09-02-2002, 12:16 PM
Two of my club buddies say they "routinely" go off for a week or more without having anyone doing any feeding or maintenance. "Does the fish good - they breed like crazy while you're away." Really? "Hey, what would YOU do if you thought it was the end of the world?"
So I went off for two weeks holiday with my family, to camp in the Rockies and to do a dinosaur dig in the badlands. I hired S. -- who has cared for my fish once in the past -- to feed flake once daily to each of the tanks, and to feed the cat, change her litterbox, and to make sure she got out periodically.
I returned to find the fish in good shape: two casualties, but some new fry too. However, the whole house smelled like a catbox.
I discovered that the cat, or possibly some feline associate who got in with our cat, had done some jobs on the leather couch. Lots of them, over an extended period. The faeces encrusted all of the seat cushions, and the top layer of the leather came off when the faeces were removed. Cat urine had soaked through and dried into everything. All the leather will have to be de-ordorized, sanded and resprayed. The cushion material and parts of the wood frame will have to be replaced. It will cost about $2,000 to do all this, and the restorer offers no guarantee. I contacted my insurer and was advised that damage by pets is not an insured peril.
S. is coming around today to be paid.
:twisted:
So I went off for two weeks holiday with my family, to camp in the Rockies and to do a dinosaur dig in the badlands. I hired S. -- who has cared for my fish once in the past -- to feed flake once daily to each of the tanks, and to feed the cat, change her litterbox, and to make sure she got out periodically.
I returned to find the fish in good shape: two casualties, but some new fry too. However, the whole house smelled like a catbox.
I discovered that the cat, or possibly some feline associate who got in with our cat, had done some jobs on the leather couch. Lots of them, over an extended period. The faeces encrusted all of the seat cushions, and the top layer of the leather came off when the faeces were removed. Cat urine had soaked through and dried into everything. All the leather will have to be de-ordorized, sanded and resprayed. The cushion material and parts of the wood frame will have to be replaced. It will cost about $2,000 to do all this, and the restorer offers no guarantee. I contacted my insurer and was advised that damage by pets is not an insured peril.
S. is coming around today to be paid.
:twisted: