Silly Humans

While I do understand cats sleep for oh, about a zillion hours a day it boggles my mind why these tranquil moments cannot fall between midnight and five a.m. Living in Asheville, I did not run into too many nocturnal issues but for some reason the transition from hardwood to carpeted floors set off some sort of switch in my young feline’s brain. It started with soft, gentle meows wanting to involve me in playtime every night around ten thirty. This was quickly shot down with the obvious solution of closing Tilla out of my bedroom. Yes, this would in most people’s minds equate to a signal saying hey, I am sleeping please leave me alone. Nope. It was as if I initiated some sort of unspoken World War III and by no means was this something Tilla was going to take lightly. The scratching at the door turned into the total annihilation of any carpet resembling an obstacle to my wearing affection. Starting out somewhat like a run in ones pantyhose, they kept spreading. It got to the point where I had to seek guidance from my apartment complex over the fees involved if something were to hypothetically happen to the carpeting by my bedroom door. This lovely side effect of being shut out was now being combined with full on body slamming against my door. Not just a little nudge, I am talking linebacker strength force. If you were not aware there was a cat on the other side, some might even venture to call for help or brace themselves with makeshift weapons for an intrusion. After several seemingly endless nights of this, the war was truly waged. I tried everything. Large pieces of cardboard propped up against the door to stifle the noise were found ripped to shreds in the morning. Old pillows were tied tightly, and not at all attractively, on the outside of the door only to be nudged and to have the strings mangled and bitten. Every night began a countdown to the ritual known as “Tilla proofing” my sleeping quarters. Since the addition of Loki, my roommate’s kitten, things have drastically improved as long as some sort of feeding is involved. And sadly, some nights I still curse the ways of this small life force that keeps me from my precious REM cycles. After these trials and failed efforts, I have learned several things. Apparently, cats sleep when and where they want, and humans cannot possibly think that they will ever change this. Here’s hoping for a calm and restful evening.