For the first couple of months in our new rental house, Sputnik would plant herself at the top of the stairs and cry for me to come back upstairs. We tried different methods of coaxing her into coming downstairs and decided time would tell. One day as I was in the kitchen, I saw something move across the floor and realized it was my cat. She had made it downstairs on her own. Now she explores the whole house, usually at night, when all is quiet. She's reminded me that sometimes the limitations I think I have are all in my mind.