Back when we got our floors redone in 2022, all of our baseboards had to be replaced as well. My wife took the opportunity to get taller baseboards because she liked them better.
That was fine except in one spot. In our bathroom, there were two access panels that covered holes under our bathtub. I assume they are there to make it possible to get in and fix the thing if necessary. The panels were too large to go back in place with the new taller baseboards. We needed to get new smaller panels or alter them in some way to make them fit.
It was one of many things that fell through the cracks since then. It wouldn't take much to fix them and finish it off, but hell we still haven't even painted all of the baseboards yet much less gotten around to other things like this. Until those panels rose in importance to the top level, they were going to be left. We couldn't screw them back in, so they leaned against the tub, mostly covering the holes that they were there for. It was good enough...
...Until now. Maybe you'll remember me talking about getting a new kitten on here the other day. Well, you probably know where this is going now. As most baby animals are, even human babies, the kitten was curious, and determined to completely explore its surroundings. It wasn't long before it discovered these poorly covered holes under the bathtub, found how easy it was to tip the panels over and gain access to what lay beneath, and get inside the best hiding spot ever.
This cat is already a Nervous Nellie, and spends all of her time hiding under the bed anytime I'm around, so an even more secure hiding spot would definitely appeal to her. The other night, my wife said, "Freya keeps going in under the bathtub. Can you get your packing tape and cover it up again so she can't?"
I was certainly capable of that, except that the dang cat wouldn't come out so that I could. I didn't want to seal her up inside after all, but she is probably more skittish around me than anyone, so as soon as I came around, she bounded in under the tub and cringed.
After a time or two of this, I realized that taping it shut was not going to be enough. I needed to make this permanent. I took the panels, measured the size they needed to be to fit the space with the new baseboards, marked them, and took them out to the garage to cut them down. I came back inside, and screwed one panel on, but I couldn't do the second one until the cat came out.
I tried to coax her out, calling her name as sweetly as I could, and dangling her favorite toy in front of the opening, but she never took the bait. I think she might have been utterly spooked by the noise the electric screwdriver had made closing the first panel.
I finally had to go up and grab my daughter and enlist her in the endeavor. She was much more successful. In a few seconds she was able to take this picture of Freya peeking out of the hole cautiously.
A little more time, and she had the cat in hand, and took her to another room to close the door behind her so that I could do my thing. I jumped in there and screwed the second panel down, and now we finally have that job taken care of.
Maybe sometime soon, we'll even get the baseboards painted as well. Who knows?
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