"curiosity killed the cat"

i never understood that phrase growing up.... i seem to remember my brother telling me that when i would go into his room and play with his star wars toys while he was at school, and i remember thinking about it over and over, imagining different scenarios of how cats might die from curiosity, but it still didn't make sense.

and no, our poor cat is not dead, but i've decided it's not worth it to me to keep her right now, and curiosity is the culprit. not her's though, oh no. milo's.

aside from the already established fact that he's obsessed with her, but doesn't know how to show his affection in ways that are appropriate, i've started keeping her in the basement so that she can get to her litter box and food, but with the door closed, she also gets no attention whatsoever. she doesn't seem to mind as much, but on occasion when i let her out and leave the basement door open, then i have to blockade milo from the kitchen.

up until now he had not noticed the basement door, the stairs going down, the fact that there's a whole new world (cue "Aladdin"music) down there to explore.... but then he found it.

i knew he was crawling around in the kitchen. if i'm not watching him, i try to keep a vigilant ear on where he is, and thus knowing what he's getting into without even seeing him. i've gotten decent at it. silence is golden when he's sleeping, but awake, it's a red flag. i looked over to the kitchen area, and there he was, at the basement door, staring at the cat, who was on the step, waiting to get out, staring at him.

so now that he's aware of the basement, i have to keep that door closed all the time. and since blockades work better on the cat then on milo, and it just doesn't seem fair to keep her locked in a basement all day long, and we hope to have another baby or two (eventually), which would mean i'd have to go through this whole charade again?

thanks, but no thanks..... sorry cat, i'll at least do my best to find you a good home.