Getting old sucks, especially for a once-spry cat who would jump to the top of my closet and sit on my shoes.

Keyser is roughly 14 years old. I know. I'm a terrible mother not to know her actual age but she was a kitten I got from a friend and I never knew precisely when she was born.

Regardless, the years are starting to affect her. She still has moments of speed and agility but they are fewer and fewer in between.

My husband noticed this after only a few months of living with her. And he did the nicest thing.

He told me he was going to build something that would make it easier for her to get in and out of our bed. I thought that was incredibly sweet. I was envisioning those little steps I have seen on television or something similar.

So I have to admit when I actually saw the device I was shocked at first.

He used some cedar wood in the garage to put together a very large ramp that actually is the full width of the queen-size bed and then has a little area that wraps around the bedpost so Keyser can walk directly onto the bed.

Now that I am used to it I think it's awesome. And so does Keyser.

It only took one example of showing her how it worked and she now uses it without fail to get off the bed. She still jumps up on the bed, however. I guess that doesn't hurt her joints as bad.

I'm just glad Ehren took the time to make her quality of life better.