Heh....if I'm up too late, Katie starts pacing, tapping me with her
paw, and mrrrp-ing at me.  *Her* bedtime ritual is to jump up on
the bed as I'm getting in, rub on me a little, knead the covers (but
I'm not supposed to touch her while she's kneading), then she jumps
off the bed to get a drink out of the bowl I have near the bed.  None
of this can happen *until* I'm in bed, according to her.  Once she's
done drinking, she'll jump back up on the bed and settle in.

Tripper insists on having the bathtub tap turned on about 20 minutes
before Katie starts pestering me.  He'll go in and drink, and Katie
will hang out in the tub with him until she decides I'm up too late.
Once she starts nagging, I go in, turn the tap off (assuming Tripper's
finished with his drink), and then it's time for bed.  Tripper may
or may not join me...sometimes he likes to sleep in the cat hammock in
the hall instead....;)

Nah....really...I'm not trained....

Chris

I have a definite bedtime ritual with Vino.  When I'm ready for bed, I track
him down and take him up to the bedroom.  I turn on the air conditioner and
close the door to the bedroom with Vino in there while I shower and get
ready for bed.  Then I go to bed and cuddle with Vino for a few minutes.
Vino usually leaves and opens the door to go downstairs.  He can pull the
door towards him when it is pretty much closed but not clicked in.  I
usually read for a while but as soon as I turn out the light, Vino comes
back and settles next to my pillow.  He curls up into a tight little ball
and rests his head on my pillow and folds both his front paws under...it's
very cute!  I lean over and give him a goodnight kiss on the head and then
we both go to sleep.
--
Britta
Sandpaper kisses, a cuddle and a purr. I have an alarm clock that's covered
in fur!
Check out pictures of Vino at:
http://photos.yahoo.com/badwilson click on the Vino album

Only if you count "special water" and "Pop's pillow" a ritual.

DW has to have a humidifier at night.  Reservoir has to be filled every
other night (every night if it's dry out).  Mistletoe (Missy) *demands*
special water.  First preference is the little pool on which the humidifier
reservoir sits.  On the off nights, she has a small bowl beside the
humidifier that *must* be filled before anyone in the house gets any peace.

Smokey, OTOH, knows that when the 11:00 PM news comes on, it's feeding time.
He leads one of us into the kitchen where his food is and waits patiently
(?) by it until his nighttime snack is provided.  When he sees it put down,
he promptly turns his nose up at it and goes and gets on my pillow (his food
is mostly gone by the morning) and sacks out.  If I disturb him, he'll
grumble and turn around but won't move off the pillow unless I move him.  If
I do move him, he immediately comes back and curls around (or on) my head.

Trained?  Not me!
Sam

Yes, we have a bedtime tirual. When I am ready for bed, I get out the kibble
bag and Nikki comes running. Frank usually doesn't bother to come, because
he knows he will be served in bed if he doesn't show up. When I have enticed
Frank out of bed with his share of the kibble, I take the day cover off the
bed (only way to get Frank out of the way to do this). Frank eats his
kibble, but always leaves one or two pieces for Nikki, who has vacuumed her
own kibble and comes to find Frank's.

Then Frank gets a drink of water, and then I'd better be ready to get in
bed, because he hangs around the bed until I do. He has to jump into bed at
the same time as I do, then he has to trample around me several times,
purring all the while, and then he curls up around my head. Nikki comes up
and settles down by my feet at some point, when Frank has calmed down.

Definitely - Katie's usually first up on the bed, as soon as I
get my PJs out. Once I get in, the others jump up one by one and
usually cuddle up next to me. Katie and Arthur usually sleep on
opposite sides of me - if Arthur tries to settle down on Katie's
side they'll have a bit of a swearing match until one moves. Only
Violetta will actually climb on me. Simon's no longer able to
climb up on the bed himself (he's 21), so at some stage he'll
come in and meow for a lift up. It has to be when he's ready
though - if I lift him up before he asks he just jumps down
again. When I turn off the light, Simon, who feels the cold more
these days, usually gets right under the blankets with me, and we
all go to sleep in a big snoring pile.

Doesn't matter if it's a daytime nap or bedtime at night; all I have to do
is call "Persia!" and she jumps up on the bed.  She likes to start off
sleeping curled in the crook of my waist with her head resting on my hip.
During the night she sometimes moves to the side of the bed, but she's a
funny little critter.  She always has to have one paw touching me, or me
touching one paw.  I'll roll over on my side and take one of her front paws
in my hand.  She wraps the other around my hand and gently lays her head on
top.  Such a sweetie!

Jill

My three are all different.
Antonio the youngest will get into bed when I do.
He then proceeds to get between me and the edge of the bed, facing the
foot so I get a lovely view of his backside.
Tito the middle child, will come to bed and kneed me for a while then
settle down at the foot of the bed. After a while he turns into a
puddle of fur stretching all his length across the foot of the bed.
Figaro, the oldest thinks that this is the perfect time to reclaim
"his" recliner, Sometime in the night he'll come into bed ad sleep on
the other side of me. Sometime during the night they will all get
together into a big pile of fur. It looks kind of odd. Three heads, 12
legs three tails and all different colors of fur ranging from black to
white, silver tan and brown.

I just turn off the lights in the living room and head for my bedroom.
Now, no matter what time of year it is, I have to open the bedroom
window at some point so the kitties can smell the night air.

I also have to fluff up my pillows near the window.  It allows Imp to
climb up and sit on the windowsill.  :)  This is a cat that doesn't
like to jump.  I even have a box next to the toilet, cause he likes to
drink out of the toilet.

Mischief will usually inspect the window first.  Then if I'm reading
she has to rub against the book.  If I'm watching TV she has to jump
onto the dresser and sit in front of the TV.

When the lights go out, the cats look out the window, settle on the
corner of the bed or right behind me, munch food, chase each other
around; not necessarily in that order.  :)

Kristi

Cats love familiar rituals, although Pan could do without the new
ritual which calls for me sticking a pill down his little gullet every
night.  But he's an old cat,(16, now) and he has a hyperthyroid
problem, so he'll be on his meds for the rest of his life.  The rest
of the bedtime ritual is more pleasant.  After I've washed my face,
brushed my teeth and put on my jammies, I like to read for a while
before turning off the light, as it helps me slow down and get sleepy.
That is, I read in theory, only. After a page or two,Pan comes over
and lays his head and front paws on the book and gazes up at me
soulfully until I give up on reading and stroke him.  After he's had
his massage, if it's a cold night, he likes to burrow under the top
comforter, although he doesn't like to be between the sheets. If it's
a milder night, he just climbs on top of me, and goes into the
meatloaf act.  But he has a nice, deep rumbly purr, and this is one of
our favorite moments of "face time." Recently, his favorite place to
sleep through the night is on top of the covers and about level with
my left hip.

Francesca, my six-month old newcomer whom I've had for three weeks
also has a cat's intuitive understanding that Mother Must Not Be
Allowed to Read. She and I are still working out our nighttime
rituals, and it appears she loves to get ALL the way under the covers,
and heads for my feet as if she's exploring the Lascaux Caves. She
also knows how to be a cat meatloaf, and luckily, she's realized I
mean it when I say "no bites."

The late beloved Isadora would seldom begin the night with  Panther
and me, but she was always there by morning. She was an  excellent
furry alarm clock, as she would sit by my pillows and bleat at short,
regularly timed intervals until I got up and did my feeding duty.  I
never DID find her snooze bar. =o)

Melissa