last night i read inaba mayumi's short story, asa ga nido kuru (morning comes twice a day). i love my japanese short stories, especially those during the classic period up until the twentieth century.

asa ga nido kuru is about a lady who finds herself in a predicament when she is required to move out of her little house and find a new home. her struggle is not just the searching of another home, but the searching of one that would allow her to keep her cat. she especially wants a small house with a garden, similar to the one she was currently living in, so that her cat could continue to play as it pleases. as time passes and her options dwindle, she finally finds a new home, a condominium on the fifth floor located on the southeastern edge of tokyo. the story goes on to show her struggling with her cat's dissatisfaction of their new home, cooped up in a condo with nowhere to go.

the story so reminded me of me. of having to move. of my concern for whether or not sumi will be happy in the new place. she takes to adapting pretty well and she's exclusively an indoor cat so i need not worry about turning her from an outdoor cat into an indoor one, but i still wonder if she'll be happy. i've been making a list of things to buy her once we move. things that will hopefully help her adjust easier. kind of like "welcome to your new home, sumi-cat. look at all the great stuff!!"

i want to invest in a piece of cat-furniture. sumi's never actually had a scratching post or her own "furniture". i built a playhouse for her out of garment boxes when we first move into my uncle's house, but that's long gone since we had to make room downstairs for the weight-system that they bought wesley for christmas.

i've been eyeing the pavlov post by drs. foster and smith. it's a cute design and i love how she gets rewarded for using it. my only concern is if sumi will take to scratching carpet. in the past, she took to cardboard boxes (thankfully only to the garment boxes her playhouse was made of rather than any ol' cardboard box, i think it was the height) and currently she scratches at the sides of my mattress and box-spring.

on the right is petzone's leap-n-play treehouse. i think it's the cutest thing. i love petzone's products. they're all so cute and ingenious. then again, the race n' chase toy that i bought her was also made by petzone and if that's any indication ... no. i won't think that.

i'm also setting my sights on either the hide-n-play center or the hide-n-perch playground. they're pretty much the same, except the playcenter is smaller. i think the prices will help me decide though. i think the playcenter runs between $65.00 and $100.00 whereas the playground can run a little higher. i don't mind spending so much as long as sumi plays on it.

i also want to get the panic mouse. the battery-operated mouse has a long plastic wand attached with a faux-fur ball on the end of it and a built-in computer board enables it to make random 'mouse-like' movements. somewhat like my flutterball-toy but a whole lot better. how could sumi *not* like it?! then again. she proved me wrong with the race n' chase and the punch-ball. at almost $30.00, i'm still considering if this would be a wise investment.

i may also try the bubble kitty. the bubbles are kitty-safe and catnip-infused. i can just imaginer her running around with her mouth open trying to catch all the bubbles.

some people are surprised at the amount of money i spend and am willing to spend on sumi, but she's my baby, i have to spoil her. you try denying that cute li'l face.

i mean, i wouldn't go so far as to design or decorate my house completely on what sumi wants. bob walker's cat house is definitely an inspiration, but a little to crazy for me. maybe if there weren't so many bright colors ...

owari.