Why carpets are better

For much of my life, I preferred hardwood floors. They are beautiful. Sweeping is so much easier and cleaner than vacuuming - much more resource efficient. Spots can be completely wiped up with a dampened rag, and don't form those nasty black spots later. Hardwoods don't encourage dustmites, or other nasty little critters.

What I didn't think about was the cat interface. While, yes, it's much easier to get cat hair off of hardwood floors, cats do not have the healthy respect for the broom as they do the vacuum. Orpheus flops down in the broom's path so that he can be "swept." Henry cannonballs into the dust piles like he is the Hobbes portion of Calvin and Hobbes.

Which is also why Henry smells like chocolate. I spilled cocoa on the floor this morning. He ran over and sniffed it, leaving cocoa dust on his face. Then he lay spreadeagled over it until I moved him to sweep. I seem to be moving him a lot lately. Which is the problem with domesticated kittens. He's constantly underfoot and wants me to pick him up and pet him.

I don't have this problem with Athena. I'm basically leaving her alone. I tried chasing her down and petting her daily, but she hates it. It's much better when I do it periodically, when she can enjoy it. Maybe in a year or two, she'll be in the mood to snuggle.