text: Cheetah Enrichment | Cheetahs In My Shoes
  25/09/2011 by Jenny	11 Comments
  The presence of the Cheetahs seems, at the moment, to be proportional to the happiness of their keeper – the more we're in the wonders of the imaginary Cheetah-land, the happier he is with the world. Although it can be questioned whether the encouragement of imaginary friends is healthy, at the moment I'm quite happy if they stay – the world according to the Cheetahs is fun, engaging and providing a wonderful way of processing the world…
  We still have the 9 groups of Cheetahs, they went to school in his lunchbox on Friday and although caused a bit of trouble whilst dancing on the piano during choir (still in the lunchbox) they seem to have had a good day. He's apparently very busy creating a new table for them in the junk modelling area – complete with a little step so the the little Cheetahs can reach.
  The weekend has been devoted to enriching the lives of the Cheetahs – with much detail and planning in the process. Never did I think that a box of building bricks could be engineered into such complex buildings, let alone provide a full 48 hours of family entertainment.
  Initially the Cheetahs, Banana People and Dinos needed somewhere for a morning nap and a bit of play area for when they were awake so this was created:
  There are magic doors (the orange triangle bricks if you hadn't noticed) that can ping down and slide over if necessary. The Dinos, Banana People and little Cheetahs sleep at the back, the bigger Cheetahs sleep by the door.
  The obstacle course is mainly for the little Cheetahs and h as a very clear starting point.
  The rollers in the middle are for the big Cheetahs to roll down the slide on and the plank area is a like a see-saw – you go up on one side and then it flips down – possibly inspired by the dog agility course we saw over the summer?
  So, leaving the whole load of them tucked up in their new snuggle den we set off for the joy that is Saturday morning chores – mainly a trip to Tesco's. Assured that they definitely didn't want to come shopping I was somewhat surprised to discover that the Cheetahs were waiting for us in the carpark (how did they know which Tesco's we were going to?). Seemingly I was not to be trusted with my choice of fruit for the obligatory fruit salad and we ended up following them around the fruit & veg section as I was told in no uncertain terms that they only wanted Watermelon (£2.99 each) and that Galia or Canteloupe (2 for £3) were completely unacceptable. We had reduced blueberries instead. They didn't want to drive home so popped their car into ours and came back with us; I think they needed to keep an eye on the fruit.
  The Banana People no longer want to live under the house – it's too cold and damp in the winter and there now only seem to be 3 of them. The Dinos are around and about but the Cheetahs have definitely been taking priority in the building construction. Seemingly the morning creation did not have a big enough sleeping area for overnight snoozing ("when you have to sleep until the clock has gone all the way round") so a rebuild was necessary.
  Whilst I can appreciate the need for more sleeping space (although the Banana People have had a separate annexe built for them) I'm not sure their sudden need for a security system is entirely necessary. However, if you're going to have fingerprint recognition for your school library, it is completely obvious that "pawprint entry" (I quote!) is an essential feature to include in a new build as is a safe play area (so the little Cheetahs can't escape) and a swimming pool – with partial roof, so they can swim inside and out, which is very, very important. Of course.
  They all seemed to sleep well in their snuggle area and were up and ready for trampolining bright and early. The Cheetahs went off in their car (which now lives between the van and car on our drive and moves forward when we need to pull out) to their own trampolining class this week – they've found one with a trampoline bed with no holes and that they're all allowed to bounce on together, the Banana People stayed in bed and the Dinos came with us. The Dinos feet have grown sufficiently to be allowed a quick bounce at the end of the session (and thrashed us all at the weekly races) and the Cheetahs joined us at the end – to be introduced to their keeper's new instructor who was even allowed to stroke them – what a privilege.
  A visit to the relatives this afternoon allowed the Cheetahs to have another trampolining session – although concerns were raised about whether their claws would get stuck in the safety net, I am assured that their claws (and paws for that matter) are very soft so there wouldn't be a problem. Tired and happy Cheetahs who then 'needed' new sleeping accommodation.
  Their keeper and his sister could have spent many more happy hours together on the rebuild but bedtime won – they Cheetahs have gone to bed in a new snuggle area with their new snow play area (the beloved snuggly blanket with the hood for warming up in!), sledges and bumps to jump over and do stunts. The builders will be back on site tomorrow…
  Categories: Cheetahs | Tags: banana people, building, cheetah enrichment, cheetahs, dinos, happiness, imaginary friend, Tesco, trampolining | Permalink.
  11 thoughts on "Cheetah Enrichment"
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  03/11/2011 at 10:24 am
  That is hilarious! A security system! He's got it all under control hasn't he – I wouldn't mind being one of those cheetahs. Thanks so much for linking up to Wot So Funee? this week – I'm glad to have found you 🙂
  03/11/2011 at 7:41 pm
  He's now working on the paw print recognition system for the wardrobe where they're all sleeping (tends to work well with the triangular bricks) and a new flying saucer to transport them…
  03/11/2011 at 10:41 am
  Aah bless him! That is quite an imagination and fair play to you for all that building!
  03/11/2011 at 7:42 pm
  and he junk models for them at school as well – I've had to explain to the teachers what he's doing as they really didn't understand!
  Great imagination is always (usually) a good thing!
  except in a few situations where people give you very, very strange looks… It's hard to keep up with but I love it!
  What an amazingly creative imagination, and how well cared for are those cheetah's! Truly brilliant! Foud you via Wot so Funny! 🙂
  04/11/2011 at 11:51 am
  welcome to Cheetah Land – they've been very busy since then and I'm told today that they've gone to school in a flying saucer! Really pleased you enjoy it – thank you for commenting 🙂