Miss Ralphie and Elsie
On a cat adoption application form I saw recently, they asked, "If your cat
sleeps on the bed and takes up most of the bed, do you...
(a) make him get off the bed?
(b) go sleep somewhere else yourself?
But I still haven't answered the question at the top of the page. You can see my cats get treated more like family. I do appreciate a good night's sleep, so if I wake up in the night hemmed in by cats on both sides of me I will give one or both of them a gentle, constant, and firm push to reclaim my rightful half of the bed. They forgive me.
(a) make him get off the bed?
(b) go sleep somewhere else yourself?
| When I got Ralphie and Elsie eight and a half years ago, I decided that they would be "family" and have the run of the apartment. I trusted them not to be destructive and they weren't. They were not allowed on the kitchen counters (Elsie obliges, Ralphie does not). They were not allowed on the table (later modified, "except for breakfast," which makes it difficult to read the paper some mornings). |
 Miss Elsie |
 Miss Ralphie |
 |
They often are together on my bed during the day, which is the
sunniest room. I have them both in bed with me at
night...Ralphie at my right shoulder, Elsie at my left hip. Two
twelve-pound cats take up more room than I do.
They both join me for laundry folding. Elsie often climbs under
a pile of warm clothes and sleeps. I leave them there for her
until it is time for me to go to bed.
|
 When Elsie hops on my computer table for a little attention, she gets it. She purrs and stays there a while even when I start working again. |
Sometimes I can't make the bed in the morning because I don't
have the heart to make Elsie get down |
In the past few months Ralphie took over my recliner. If I
needed to sit in the living room briefly, I would let her stay
there and sit on the couch instead. I seldom sat on it before,
and I discovered it sagged and wasn't very comfortable. Then I
realized I had bought it when I moved here 26 years ago. I
decided to buy a new one.
|
The new couch hadn't been in the house for more than an hour
before Ralphie took it over. How many people would buy an
expensive piece of furniture like this for a cat?
|
But I still haven't answered the question at the top of the page. You can see my cats get treated more like family. I do appreciate a good night's sleep, so if I wake up in the night hemmed in by cats on both sides of me I will give one or both of them a gentle, constant, and firm push to reclaim my rightful half of the bed. They forgive me.