Summer Sleeps

Summer is a great time for napping and sleeping in. However, this summer has proven to a bit challenging in the sleep department. Why? Because I like to hit the sack with at least one or two fur people and for whatever reason, my boys haven't been interested in cuddling.

Arlo would certainly sleep with me if I asked him to... but he takes up so much of the bed and likes to lick his paws and nibble his tail, which is both noisy and gross. So he stays in the living room with Augusta (who prefers her crate). And that's great because I love my dogs, but my cats are the ones I want in bed with me. Understand?

This summer, I've spent a lot of time getting up in the middle of the night just to fetch a cat. Harvey, as a kitten, was a tremendous snuggler. I don't know what happened! So many nights, I find myself throwing back the covers and walking through the house in order to track him down and carry him back to my bedroom, only to have him leave a few minutes later.

Kip is a morning cuddler. I often find him curled under my arm when I wake up, resting his front paws on my bicep and kneading it gently. He's a sweet, sweet boy... but at night, he'd rather sleep on the cat scratcher in the corner of my bedroom. So annoying!

And Petey... Well, Petey is often impossible to catch. I don't know what damage was inflicted upon him before he came to live with me, but he is a very skittish creature. He cowers when I go to touch him, and usually darts away before I can pick him up. He does love to be loved up, though, and once he remembers this, he melts against my palm and begins to drool. When I'm able to catch him in the middle of the night, he'll sometimes sleep on my feet, anchoring me to the bed... but he doesn't like to be touched.

So this summer, I've spent a lot of time getting up and out of bed again and again and again -- at all hours of the night/morning! It's no wonder I appreciate a good nap, right? Because my nighttimes have been restless.

Or rather... they were restless until I discovered the magic of string.

Obviously, I know that cats like to chase string. What I did not know is that my cats like to chase string in bed and then, after a rousing game of following it back and forth across the mattress, they then like to settle in for a night-long snuggle. How perfect is that?! These days, the boys and I have been sleeping just fine!