A Flirtation with Destruction

Bela was a perfect roomate from day one. She didn't have 'accidents' inside. She didn't try to sneak food, but rather sprang onto her ass when she saw you had something to eat, in hopes her good behavior would lead to you sharing it with her. She didn't disturb the home during the day and she slept through the night.

About two weeks in, she went ballistic.

She started by stealing 5 frozen sausages. (Which put her in real danger of maintaining Mike's affection - since sausage is one of his most revered foods.) She destroyed four pair of shoes. She opened and inhaled an entire container of espresso grounds (and then, thankfully - threw them right back up). She tore open a box of tea and sucked on the teabags. (Yes, I see she may have a problem with caffeine). She ripped up an antique Italian dictionary. She ate all 4 corners of a wooden prayer plaque -- The Serenity Prayer. (The very thing we are seeking - we often do not see right in front of us.) The picture above was taken on her final day of destruction.

We threw her in a crate. We crate-'trained' (is it training or just a padded jail cell?) for about two weeks. We hated the idea of her held up like that. Every time we left the house and shut her in it, we were filled with anguish.

We only kept her in there solidly for about seven days.
For the next seven, we did test runs. No crate use when we were leaving for short periods of time.
She succeeded! Day after day, we found nothing displaced.

So we freed the beast.

And she has been near angelic.

That said...every now and then...she will threaten us.
If we up-and-leave during a Bela-designated time (I swear, she knows the times that we don't have to be at work-- these being nights and weekends), she'll take items from throughout the house and place them in her domain, on her carpet. One shoe. A lid from a Rubbermaid container. Whatever the object be -- it is a token, a physical representation of her statement: "I will not be ignored".

Her threats work. We stay home, if not both of us, then at least one - most every single weeknight. Weekends we are less stringent, but like to keep her alone time to a bare minimum.

We didn't get a dog to see her when we occasionally stop by the house to change clothes. She keeps us grounded, aknowledging that time spent with family is well spent. And as long as we continue to acknowledge that, she'll keep our material possessions intact.