Sunday, June 29, 2008

How Was Your Night?

When I think about all you guys and your respective Saturday nights, I imagine all sorts of good times.  Maybe you spent a quiet evening at home, working jigsaw puzzles and playing Charades.  You could have been out clubbing, but in a very, very responsible sort of way.  I even think about how one or two of you might have rescued a lost puppy or discovered a cure for toenail fungus.  

Or maybe you knit something really cool.  I supposed that is probably a good guess...

At any rate, I like to think you had a fantastic night.  And I always imagine that, at the end of it all, you rested your weary heads on your pillows and slept the sleep of the just.  You are fine people.  A justified sort of sleep is certainly your due.

What's that?  My night?  Funny you should ask...

I was the victim of The Cat Who Napped All Day And I Was Stupid Enough To Let Him.  That would make a great movie, now that I think about it.  Someone else is going to have to write that script, though.  I'm too tired.

When I finally went to bed in the very wee hours, I'd hoped that the fun and frolic might be over.  Not so.  The Absurdly Gi-normous Kitty was still ready for action.  There was a rousing game of Chase Things Which Do Not Exist that went on for quite some time and which involved racing across the bed in which I was trying to sleep.  Then it was time for a little activity I like to call Cabinet Thumpin'.  The point of this game is unknown, but it seems to revolve around repeatedly attempting to open the cabinets under the sink which have been secured with elastic bands.  Because of the elastics, they will not open.  But they will make a super keen noise when they slam back into place.  The whole thing culminated with me stumbling out of bed at 3:00 in the morning in order that I might duct tape closed the cabinet that I'd hoped he wouldn't discover was unsecured...but did.  And I gave serious consideration to not first removing him from said cabinet where he was nestled in amongst various boxes and bottles.  I did not do that.  But I thought about it...

And could someone out there tell me for what earthly reason a cat, who has three million toys, a plethora of invisible things to chase and that whole cabinet thing going on, would need to remove the crumb tray from the toaster oven?  Seriously...I'd like to know.  It's a crumb tray.  I could see the reasoning if these were particularly tasty crumbs.  But there was no evidence that crumbs had been consumed.  I could almost live with it if he had licked it clean.  That would be kind of like housework.  

Today has not been particularly productive.  The AGK was up bright and early in spite of his busy night and it really didn't seem safe to not be out there to supervise.  But, I was very tired.  Even the Big, Fluffy Kitty, normally the sweetest of creatures, raised her paw threateningly at the beast who made for such a sleepless night. 

 I was able to get to the grocery store and even managed to purchase one or two things that were actually needed.  I'll get the stuff I forgot on some other day.  Thought was given to activities of a fibery nature, but I just didn't have it in me.  Frankly, all I wanted to do was wait for the baby to settle down so that I could take a nap.  

He eventually did settle...but he was up and back on the kitchen counters the minute I stretched out on the sofa.  Does this boy ever tire????

I gave up.  I grabbed the copy of Night Of The Living Dead (the original thankyouverymuch) that I scored for six bucks at the used bookstore, took up my sock-in-progress and watched some good ol' black 'n white zombie carnage while noshing on cake.  I was really rather engrossed, if you want the truth.  And while I was distracted...






The new baby fell asleep.


Strategic error on my part.  I blame the sleep deprivation.  I'm certain I've got another night of fun and frolic ahead of me.  But, I have a little card up my sleeve.  It's not much, but it is enough to make me feel like I have just the teensiest bit of power.  When you adopt a kitty from the shelter, you get free stuff sometimes.  Not much...but a couple of things.  And one of them is a certificate for a free exam from the vet.  

He's going tomorrow.  I'm not the kind of mommy who is all vindictive.  I won't lie and say that he needs all his shots again or that he hasn't been neutered.  I love my handsome boy and know that this is really just the behavior of a young cat in a new environment.  I'd probably get caught anyway.  Vets know about this kind of stuff.  But I still anticipate that it will be something which the AGK does not remember fondly in later years.  I even bought a new carrier for the occasion.  You'd like it.  It has leopard trim.

I'm sure that there will be retribution for this act of veterinary vindictiveness.  But I'll worry about that later.  For now, I am tired and will take what I can get.  

Gonna bring my sock with me.  Maybe I'll get something done at the vet's office...

SA

12 comments:

Anonymous said...

You should put the AGK in the cat carrier tonight and put him in another room with the door shut for the night. You know, just to save time in the morning :-)

No, no, don't do that; I was just kidding. You could always nap in the vet waiting room.

Mia said...

ohhh sheepie, i see many sleepless nights ahead *grin* That's why I put a lock on my bedroom door - to keep the cat out so i can get some SLEEP!

Ronni said...

You need the small kitty toy equivalent of an advent calendar which you leave out in the living room. And I'd close the door with him out there and me in my bedroom, personally. But then I crated the dogs until they were old enough to grasp the concept of "nighttime is for sleeping and the only reason you wake me is if you have to go out really bad."

But crating is easier with dogs. And all of ours have liked it.

Anonymous said...

Julie is on to something. But if you put AGK into the cat carrier in another room, you may still hear him crying. I recommend putting him in the carrier in your car. Parked several blocks away ;-)

Kath said...

Oh gods I remember those days...fondly...but I'm glad they're over! If it makes you feel any better, my indoor cat threw up four times last night. Episode number 3 was on the bed. Yes, my Saturday night was just lovely, thanks for asking.

Jeanne said...

Eh, save the free vet card for later, when it's needed. Just tire him out really good before bedtime. Or give him a kitty sedative. Or wake him up every time he falls asleep. He'll grow out of it. Eventually.

When Zander was in that stage, I stuck him in the bathroom at night with Ophelia. She didn't like that one bit. I don't know what transpired, but it wasn't long before he learned to cool it at night.

Anonymous said...

Good luck. I hope you got some much needed sleep.

Cursing Mama said...

I hear dog owners put their dogs in crates at night during the "training" phase of parenting. I'm just saying......

sheep#100 said...

If the AGK somehow mysteriously got into your medicine cabinet, I would not tell anyone.

We used to have a cat that would "find" ping pong balls at 3am. We would get up and take the ball away and stuff it into NG's sock drawer. The cat's record was three in one night.

We are really feeling the sympathy for your here, today, too: we had a ginormous thunderstorm last night which awoke the whole household - including the smallest of us in tears. And the power went out for a minute or so. Blech.

Anonymous said...

In answer to your question "Why would a cat..." there is only one that I can think of after 50+ years of cat ownership and that is Because They Are Cats! I'm sorry, that's all I've got but it does answer just about every question about cat behavior that I've every heard.

Vicki in So. Cal.

Yarnhog said...

I had a male kitten for a few months. He used to wake up at 2:00 every morning and literally bounce off the walls, and anything else in his way, yowling at the top of his lungs for about 10 minutes and then, just as suddenly, curl up on my pillow and go back to sleep. I found this extremely disconcerting--even more bothersome than the way he liked to sleep on my head, kneading his claws in my hair. This may explain why I am more of a dog person.

Anonymous said...

Aw, sweet. I hope you had a lovely nap at the vet's office.