Chapter 13: Raising a Cat Is Not Easy

There are several methods to deal with this:

1. Regularly trim your cat's nails. Cats scratch to sharpen their claws, and regular trimming can reduce the damage to furniture and prevent them from scratching people.

2. Provide your cat with something to scratch. This is the most important principle. Since a cat's nature cannot be changed, if you forbid it from scratching one place, you must provide another place for it to scratch. This is very important! You can get a scratching post (preferably made of natural materials like sisal rope or wood), fix it vertically, and train your cat to use it. You can use catnip to attract your cat to the scratching post if necessary. Nowadays, there are scratching posts on the market that are already sprayed with catnip, and most cats love them. Additionally, some cats prefer mats made of natural materials, and they will naturally scratch on them.

3. Spray lemon water on the spots on the sofa where your cat likes to scratch. Cats dislike the smell of lemon water, and they also hate the smell of orange peels. Other scents that cats dislike include floral water and menthol. When cats smell these scents while scratching, they will certainly avoid them.

After buying the toys, the two continued to walk around. They came across a pet supply store, and Heo Yoo-ri pushed the door open. Inside, there were various cat items, which made them feel overwhelmed. Based on the store clerk's recommendations, Yoo-ri chose a sisal rope scratching post and a large cat tree.

There was no cat tree at home, only four cat houses, so she wanted to get one for the cats to play with. Since there were four cats at home, Yoo-ri chose a large cat tree that would be enough for all the cats to play on.

Because the items were quite large and difficult to carry around while shopping, Yoo-ri asked the store to hold them until they came back to pick them up later.

After leaving the pet store, the two continued to stroll around Myeongdong.

Myeongdong was bustling at night, and many people recognized Yoo-ri, but no one came to disturb them; they just took a few photos with their phones.

I had long gotten used to this. I had to get used to it. In the early years, before Yoo-ri and I confirmed our relationship, if we had a meal together and weren't careful, we would be photographed. Over time, Lee Shin-haeng got used to being photographed and would sometimes even pose for the camera when in a good mood.

After walking around for a while, Lee Shin-haeng and Yoo-ri returned to the pet store. They picked up the items they had left with the store clerk, carried them back to the car, and then drove home.

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"Wow~! We had so much fun today~! Kids, come out, Mommy has bought you some gifts."

When they got home, Yoo-ri immediately sat on the living room floor with the items. She first took out the cat toys from the bag, which were mostly yellow, purple, and off-white.

In the book "Cat Care Guide," British veterinarian Dr. Bruce Fogle clearly states that most cats prefer yellow and purple colors.

The cats at home were already attracted by the sound of the plastic bag.

"Meow, look, this is your toy. Do you like it?" Yoo-ri placed a purple rabbit in front of Meow. Meow circled the toy a few times and then pounced on it to play.

The other cats also came over, interested. Yoo-ri took out the remaining toys and placed them on the floor for them to play with.

Lee Shin-haeng opened the packaging box of the cat tree and took out all the parts. The posts were wrapped with thick sisal rope and the pillars were thickened to prevent the cat tree from wobbling, which is very important for stability and minimizes the damage the cats can do to the cat tree.

The cat tree was a semi-finished product, and all they had to do was follow the instructions on the diagram, assemble the parts in order, and tighten the screws.

They first placed the base, which was covered with a soft velvet cloth, making it very comfortable to touch.

The two worked together to assemble the cat tree.

"Kitty, give me those four equally tall posts," said Lee Shin-haeng.

"Oh... I found them, here you go."

Next, they screwed the posts onto the four screws on the base.

"Cat house."

"Here's the cat house," Yoo-ri handed him the house.

"Kitty, come hold the house, I'll tighten it," said Lee Shin-haeng after aligning the holes.

They attached the ladder, cat house, and jump board, layer by layer, and tightened the screws. The cat tree was now complete.

"Wow! It's so cute, but where should we put it?" asked Yoo-ri.

"Let's put it over there. It's not too bright during the day, and we can move it over," said Lee Shin-haeng, looking around.

Lee Shin-haeng and Yoo-ri placed the cat tree in the corner near the sofa and the floor-to-ceiling window. The cat tree had no unpleasant odor, but they still sprayed some catnip to attract the cats' interest.

"Meow, this is your new home. Do you like it?" Yoo-ri carried Meow to the cat house and asked.

Lee Shin-haeng and Yoo-ri carried the cats to the cat tree. At first, the cats were a bit cautious, standing still and sniffing around. After a while, they started to climb up and down, exploring their new toy.

Lee Shin-haeng and Yoo-ri sat on the floor, leaning against each other, watching their 'children' play. He thought: If we had a child here, it would be perfect.

He nudged Yoo-ri, who was leaning on his shoulder, "Let's go upstairs to sleep."

"It's not even ten o'clock yet, it's still early~" Yoo-ri looked at the clock on the wall.

"Even if it's early, we still need to sleep."

He bent down, picked her up, and carried her upstairs, playfully. The 'children' looked at them with puzzled faces.

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December 22nd is the Winter Solstice, one of the twenty-four solar terms. In Korea, the Winter Solstice is also an important lunar festival. On this day, there is a custom of eating red bean porridge. According to ancient beliefs, eating red bean porridge on the Winter Solstice makes one a year older.

Red bean porridge is made with red beans and glutinous rice balls. Ancients believed that the red color of red beans could ward off evil spirits. Therefore, in addition to placing red bean porridge in the ancestral hall for worship, they would also place bowls of red bean porridge or sprinkle it in various corners of the house to ward off evil and pray for peace in the new year. Although the Winter Solstice is not as grand as the Lunar New Year or the Mid-Autumn Festival, drinking red bean porridge is essential for praying for the health and safety of family members in the coming year.

In Korea, the red bean porridge eaten on the Winter Solstice is not just a few red beans added to rice. Instead, the red beans are cooked, peeled, and mashed, then mixed with rice that has been soaked beforehand. The porridge also contains small glutinous rice balls. When eating, people can choose to add salt or sugar according to their taste. [This is good, no need to argue about salty or sweet.]

Yoo-ri's mother-in-law called her yesterday, asking her and Lee Shin-haeng to come home for the Winter Solstice.

Fortunately, Yoo-ri's schedule was not too busy these days, and after adjusting with her agent, they had lunch and then drove back to her parents' house.

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