Chronicles of Irwin and the Stairs

When I first adopted Irwin I noticed that he did not attempt to climb the spiral staircase in our home.  I was worried because I thought the spiral stairs would be a fun adventure for any cat.  I talked to my pet sitter and she told me not to worry because he was just adjusting.  "Ok," I told myself, "He's not slow, he is just getting use to the new space."  Weeks later, Irwin still would not climb up the stairs.  No longer was "adjustment" an excuse.  I told my dad this and he said the stairs probably scare him and give him vertigo.   Vertigo? Who has ever heard of a cat with vertigo?

Months into our relationship, I came to terms that Irwin was not your normal cat.  For starters, he does not run away from things, he jogs.  He constantly looks confused and surprised when Sofia harasses him instead of hiding and running away from her.  When you are doing things to him that he doesn't like, say putting clothes on him or surprise cuddle attacks, he will protest for a second and then just give in to whatever torture you inflict upon him.  Every now and then I try to get him upstairs.  I do this by picking him up and covering his eyes as I go up the stairs to stop him from crying bloody murder. Otherwise, there is absolutely no way of getting Irwin up the stairs.  I know the stairs are climbable because one time Mushoo came for a sleepover and the second thing he did was to climb the damn stairs.  Therefore, the stairs are not a kitty death trap and are totally climbable.  Even Sofia, who is the size of Irwin, climbs the stairs with no problem!

Anyhow, Boyfriend was convinced that we just have to teach Irwin to climb the stairs and then he will love it.  So he worked with Irwin for days putting treats on each stairs.  Irwin quickly master going down the stairs, but just would not climb up the stairs.  Finally, Boyfriend and I gave up on the idea of Irwin climbing the stairs and just accepted that Irwin would never climb the stairs.

Surprisingly just the other day, Boyfriend and I walked in on Irwin actually climbing the stairs!  He didn't get all the way up, but he is almost there. Here is photographic proof: