I’ve slept with dogs before but not so much cats. Lestat, my second dog, a Doberman mix who was born under a car, the runt of the liter, would nudge me when I was in bed. I’d lift the blanket and he’d crawl under. By the time I woke up he’d have pushed me to the edge of the bed.
Frieda, though bigger than Lestat, knew how to make herself small. Never cold with her thick Shepard coat, she’d curl up at the bottom of the bed and I hardly knew she was there.
All my cats have always lived outside. Wild things not the type to snuggle and cuddle. Until Minnie and now Flo started coming in the house. It’s been a few years now but I only just realized how much nicer it is to nap with a cat.
Our cats don’t go upstairs into the bedroom, but if I lay down in the living room one of them and somethings both of them, find a place next to me. They wind themselves into a perfect oval filling the negative spaces my body creates on the couch.
Knowing they’re there, just feeling the warmth and pressure is enough. But then they purr. The sound and vibration like a rocking lullaby. And when they settle in, they’re there for good. Even now as I write this I can feel the sound of their purring tickling my heart.
I’ve heard that closest relative to the domestic cat is the tiger. And what’s safer than a sleeping tiger.
I love my two-cat naps. They always know when I need comfort. Both can push me to the edge of the bed even though each is much smaller than a dog. They don’t do it when I am ill or sad, just when I am well enough to push back!
Maria, thank you for this beautiful story; I gave it my wife, Mary, as a special, little, surprise,Thanksgiving present. We acquired our first kitten in June, from our son and daughter-in-law. They were sitting on their porch, enjoying a beautiful late spring evening, when this little clump of curious fur , skittered out of the alley, next door.
She boldly greeted Jeff and Leslie, inspected the house, returned to Jeff and asked to be picked up. Promptly, she curled up in Jeff’s lap and went to sleep.
Jeff and Kim thought she escaped from a litter; they put a fluffy blanket on porch chair, deposited the kitten and went in their house. They both thought moma cat would be looking for her missing daughter.
Next morning, the kitten was snug, asleep in the towe. Jeff and Leslie are both teacher and had to go to school. They left the kitten alone again. They returned home that night in pouring, thunderstorm, and the kitten drenched in the absorbent towel. Jeff took her inside, dried her off, gave her some cat food and milk, and held her all of the four minutes she needed to fall asleep.
The next morning she woke up knowing where the litter box was and how to use it. Jeff and Leslie had two dogs and a cat. The house empty all day, starting a new kitten was not a good idea. Jeff posted a message on fb; offering Ally (of course, by now, she had to have a name; since she came from one, “Ally” (Alley) was the spiriuality correct bane.
Mary and I talked about getting a rescue cat. We told Jeff we would take Ally.
So, now Maria, when I sit at the computer each day to write my 1000 words, I have this beautiful, dark, calico kitten, weged between mt chair and the back of my neck, She purr’s to a rythm that seems to stimulate and relax me at the same time.
I think I’m learning what you mean about the synergy of cuddling with cats.
Thanks for sharing your story about your new kitten.