The elder statescat Isis is now officially back in her cat jail. Finding her occasionally on the dining room table was super annoying, but finding her curled up on the stove several times in a row today after swatting her off was the last straw.

I don't want to be that lady who killed her cat swatting her for getting on the stove and the poor thing weighs a mere seven pounds on a good day. So she's back in the crate. She doesn't seem to mind really. The other cats seemed interested in being near her which at first I thought was sweet. Then I realized they were just trying to figure out how to get to her food that was inside the cage. There's a reason they each weigh twice what she does.

Having a 17 year old cat is an exercise is learning what you can and cannot control. She is underfoot, into places and things she shouldn't, really loud for no good reason at times, extremely fragile yet also incredibly determined to do things beyond her supposed capabilities. You know, just like our kid.

I know there are people who would put a pet like this to sleep. The cat has reached the phase of her life where she is equal parts sweet and irritating. Ian is in one of those phases too right now so it's good practice. While I can't crate my kid, I will take full advantage of that option for the cat to keep her out of trouble. And regardless of her frustrations, she is family just like Ian. So we sigh and make accommodations and move on until we get to the next phase.

What you can't see in the pictures is she's purring in her little cage. She does enjoy not having to share her resources with the other cats.