I think that Jake may be in the early stages of arthritis.

Or maybe he's just getting old. But in any event, I've noticed small things about how he moves and how he's jumping and such. Like he's a little bit stiff or maybe even experiencing some pain? I dunno. But I'm going to start in on making life a little easier for him now rather than one day being blindsided and having to do everything at once.

• First there's the Litter-Robots. The old models I owned had optional stairs you can attach to the front. I bought them because Jake and Jenny were small at the time and I wanted them to be able to get to the litter easily. The new models didn't have stairs when I bought them, but I see they're available now. I couldn't get bundle savings at the time, but Whisker offered me a 10% discount on them (I saved a whopping $13.00!), so I went ahead and ordered them. Really hoping this helps the cats poop in the place I need them to as they age, because the last thing I want is for it to be so difficult that they poop on the floor.
• Jake's favorite place to be is on top of the cat tree. But if it's harder for him to make the leap from step to step, it's probably time to design a tree that has smaller steps and build it come Spring.
• Jake's second-favorite place to be is on my bed. So I'm either going to have to build some stairs up to my current bed (and the window perches) or look into a platform bed. Though the idea of me getting up from a platform bed as I age doesn't sound very appealing, so probably the stairs.
• Next up is the cat shelf I built for the top of the staircase so he wouldn't fall down again. Definitely going to have to build some kind of stairs for him to access that.
• I am not sure what to do about the staircase. He seems to be doing okay, but I can foresee having to build a small secondary staircase attached to the wall or running down the side of the existing staircase which has half-steps that are easier for him to climb? I dunno. I might build a partial to see if Jake and Jenny would even use it. If not? I guess I build an elevator and train them to use that! Wish me luck!

I know there are probably people who would laugh at me for going to all this expense and trouble, but I laugh at people who think that's funny. When my grandmother was having difficulty, we installed a walk-in tub, bought a rocking chair that could raise up, and installed all kinds of things to make her life easier, more convenient, and safer. Why wouldn't I do the same for my cats? There were days that Jake and Jenny made my life easier just by existing. The least I can do is repay the favor.

Then again, Jake just lunged at his sister as she came inside then chased her at full speed around the house. So maybe he's not getting quite so bad as I'm thinking?