Day Two Hundred Seventy Nine

The House of Snorers

For several reasons, not the least of which was my husband's epic snoring, I had to find another bed in which to sleep last night. The only available one, which did not require extensive de-cluttering, was the one in the front bedroom AKA Cat Room. This is the room where new arrivals get acclimated to their environment. Well, it's where they stay so the other cats don't kill them while I'm sleeping.

Baby Dash

 



Actually, even though we did this with Chance, Finn and Dash, we never even bothered isolating Boo! who came into the house with an attitude. We knew no one would mess with her. Ever. Anyway, there are toys, a cat tree, two litter boxes, food and water in this room. It is always ready in case the cats need to be shuffled to safety in the event of a kid invasion or other things potentially hazardous to their wellbeing.  The cats know this is their safe haven.

Which is why, anyone who dares try to sleep in there does so at their own risk. All visitors are considered interlopers. The reaction ranges from outright hostility to curiosity and sometimes glee. Last night, I was met with a version of the latter two.

Now, the different breeds react much differently in showing both curiosity and excitement. Several had already settled in for the night, so my presence elicited mixed reactions. I must add Fancy does not consider himself a cat so he couldn't care less what happens in there.

How Ragdolls Treat a Midnight Visitor:

Chance (curled up in the middle of the bed, half asleep): Oh, hi, Mommy. Are you going to sleep in here? I'll move over for you. I'm so glad you're here. G'night.

Eli (realizing something is up and has to decide how he's going to react): Hmm, Mom's here, huh? Okay, well I'm here now, too, so move your ass. Remember, I was here first - which means I get to call the shots. Get it?

Chance then moved to the foot of the bed and went back to sleep.

Eli commenced "kneading" me in all the most painful places. I do not get the point of that....

Finn sat on the dresser silently staring at me.

How Abys Treat a Midnight Visitor:

Boo! (who knows everything that's going on and probably knew I was coming into the room before I did): WOO HOO! Would you check this out!! Mum's here!! Par-tay! (Boing, boing, boing on my head) Oooo - I love you so much! (licks and kisses on my face) Purrrrrrr - This is fun! Let's cuddle! Oh wait!! Something's under the covers!  I'd better kill it!! (Dives under the covers and starts biting my feet.)

Me: Hey! That hurts! Stop! Just let me sleep!

Dash (remembering the times I slept in this room when he was a baby, and he tortured me; decided to reenact the torture. First, by attacking my head.) I had forgotten how much fun this was! Are you awake? Wake up! Play with us! We slept all day and now we want to play!

He then turned his attention to Boo! still attacking my feet, now from on top of the covers, and decided to join her. This went on for quite awhile. Pain was involved. At some point, Dash and Boo! got into a spat over territory. That was fun. They were tussling over top of my legs. Spitting and hissing was involved. I put up with as much as I could stand, then I yelled, "Hey! Knock it off! I want to get some sleep!"

Silence.

They both stopped and looked at me like I had slapped them. It was a look that said, "Gee. You don't have to yell. We were just playing. You're mean." And they took off just long enough for me to fall asleep. Of course, at some point they returned and laid across my legs, paralyzing me. But at least the biting stopped. I managed to get a few hours of sleep.

Dawn.
Lady, could you please stop with the camera!
We're trying to sleep here!

At some point in the onslaught, it occurred to me to just shut the door; as it would any sane person. But, remember, this is technically their space. I knew if I messed with that I would pay in other ways, such as nightlong howling and banging on the door. My patience provided me with the lesser of two evils.

Andy did not even question why I was in there. I'm sure he had no idea it was because of his snoring - which he would deny. That's okay - I taped it. All thirty minutes of earsplitting, mind numbing, in harmony with the dogs, noise that he doesn't make.