Last week I told you about Tabby’s “disturbing” new behavior. This week I’ve been dealing with another bad behavior. Except, unlike the one where she wakes me up at night with her blind jamboree, this one I can work with for my benefit –and safety.
Lately Tabby’s been a maniac when it comes to papers. If she sees any loose papers –receipts, newspapers, computer printouts, magazines–she attacks. She shreds it up until there is only a tiny scrap left.
Mr. Meow is sort of bad about this, too. (He got Murphy in trouble one time for his antics. See: The Case of the Christmas Present Caper.) But he only does it every once in a while when he’s feeling ornery. Tabby, on the other hand, shreds at will. If she spots a stray piece of paper, her eyes get big with an “All right! Something to do!” frenzied look in them.
The other day she was especially bad. I had a variety of papers, mostly heading for the recyclable bin anyway, scattered on my desk. She was such a nut about ripping them up I ended up tossing them on the floor for her. (She was causing entirely too much of a ruckus on the desk, because she really gets into it. I had visions of her knocking over my water glass and screwing up the keyboard, yet it was clear she was enjoying herself, so… Instead of denying her her fun, I compromised.)
A short time later when I got up to refill my aforementioned water glass, I saw the mess she had created. I groaned as I stopped to pick up all the tiny pieces of paper, cussing myself more than I was cussing her. (I already have enough cleaning to do, why’d I just add to it?!) Also, I realized I was probably teaching her a bad behavior that would later bite me in the rear, as she’s turned into quite the “shredinator” as it is.
Except, that’s when it hit me: What if I could put that bad behavior to a productive use?
I’m always looking for ways to avoid identity theft. Part of that includes shredding receipts and other personal documents before I throw them away. I’ve been doing it by hand lately because we used to have a shredder, but it broke and we haven’t replaced it yet.
I eyed the stack of papers awaiting shredding and decided to try a test run.
“Oh, Tabby!” I called as I set some down on the floor for her.
She came running, and when she saw a fresh batch of papers waiting for her, her eyes lit up. She dove right in!
It’s not a conventional way of going about it, but hey. She’s enthusiastic about her job, gets it done, and best of all works cheap. I’ll be sure to buy her an extra large stash of treats with the money she’s saved me from buying a new shredder!
Tip
For some really great money saving ideas, visit the Frugal blog.
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