Hi all:

I don't get to read the ng as much as I'd like.  Such great folks and
stories that cheer me up and can also make me cry in shared pain.  I read
Baha's thread on not feeling very merry and was awed by how so many of the
group have survived such horrible circumstances - not only survived but are
loving kind caring people.  I am inspired by their strength and I sent lots
of telepathic hugs out all over the world when I read your stories.

Reading those stories sure put my ridiculously hectic and chaotic few months
in perspective.  They were busy but good months and I have two lovely furry
creatures to cuddle at night that make everything alright.

One of those cuddly boys, Otis, is getting FAT!!!  Seems that his long
escape on our holidays made him appreciate the comforts of home that much
more.  He was nice and slim when we got him back and has been eating
constantly since his return.  I've had to put him on a diet for the first
time in his life.  He'll also be 9 yo on January 19th so maybe he's getting
his midlife paunch :-)

You can tell that its getting cold again since Otis sleeps under the covers
every night now.  Hops up on the bed, burrows underneath the covers, and we
spoon the whole night - just his little pointed head sticking out of the
covers and resting on the pillow beside me.  It's really lovely.

Otis also has a new habit.  Before, he used to just tap me with a paw as a
first warning at night, usually on the face.  If I didn't respond
immediately, then he'd break out a claw and apply light pressure until he
got my attention.  Now, he *starts* with the claw.  I'm walking around with
what look like acne on my face.  They're not zits, they're little tiny cat
scratches.  I've got three of them right now.  Just add that to the list of
annoying, disruptive and destructive habits of my dear boy.

I've decided that sleeping with the cats is leaving us chronically sleep
deprived.  One or the other gets up at 4 AM.  If its Otis, he opens the
closet doors and tries to lick the plastic drycleaning bags on my clothes.
Either that or he jumps up on the dresser under the windows and bats the
wooden shades around.  If its Chester, its harder to be mad.  He jumps up
with his Kramer entrance and starts purring so hard we think he's going to
explode.  He'll either present his head to Otis for a grooming, in which
case we are awake to the sounds of cats slurping for another 5 - 10 minutes,
or it jazzes Otis up and he hits the closets.  We've tried locking Otis 2
floors down in the basement but he yowls so dramatically, that it wakes us
up anyway.  We've tried locking Chester out of the bedroom but, since he's
discovered his inner cat, he scratches and makes a scene until we let him in
anyway.  G*d forbid we forget to close the door to the ensuite.  Chester
will fish around in the garbage can until he gags from the way it rubs on
his neck.  This is crazy!  Do you *all* have such a time sleeping????  Are
we all sleep deprived crazy people??

Otis now also defers to Chester at the food dish.  Some kind of battle has
been won somewhere - Otis sits back patiently and waits for Chester to have
the first crack at it - even if Chester hasn't yet arrived at the dish.
Weird.

And Chester - still a total angel.  He really is.

OK - my 3 hours a night of sleep this week has caught up with me so I should
go and tumble into bed.

Thanks for listening to my cat ramblings.

Susan M
Otis and Chester
Who'd better sleep tonight!