Usually the cats are locked out of the bedroom at night because it is hard
for me to fall asleep with five cats all trying to sleep on me at the same
time while Mia does her starfish impression. Anyway, Mia was away last night
so I thought I would let the cats in because they could sleep on *her* side.
(Hah!! I am SO naive sometimes...)  So there I was trying to fall asleep,
with Romeo on my chest, Jetson on my thighs, Juliet on my legs, Chloe on my
feet, and Tiffy on my arm. The cats are all snoring and purring and enjoying
themselves. It always amazes me how easily cats can fall asleep.

As for me, I need to watch TV or read a book to get to sleep. But
unfortunately I can't see the TV because of the black furry body on my chest
and I can't read a book because my arm is pinned down beside me by Tiffy and
I can't reach the book with my other hand. I lay awake, listening to the
purring and snoring. After 45 minutes my body starts to get numb. I decide
that if I want any sleep I will have to lock the cats out. So I try to sit
up and push the cats off me. Romeo whines, gives me a dirty look, and climbs
back on my chest. Tiffy jumps up in shock - who took away the hand? Jetson,
who is the heaviest of the lot, rolls further down my legs and bumps into
Juliet. Juliet hisses at Jetson but doesn't move. Chloe at my feet watches
all the commotion with fascination, and I swear, I thought I saw her
smile... but no, surely it is my imagination.

Eventually I pushed myself up onto my elbows and rolled out of bed, rolling
most cats off the bed with me. (Don't worry, it was a soft landing.) All the
cats scatter. My legs are numb as I stagger out into the kitchen to execute
the trick that they always fall for: feed them and while they are eating I
can sneak back into the bedroom and lock the door behind me. I pour out five
portions of dry cat food into five bowls, make sure they are all eating, and
then I race to the bedroom and secure the door. I climb back into bed.

Ahhh, peace at last. No heaviness on my chest, legs, or arms. I turn the TV
on and find the National Geographic channel. I set the TV timer - half an
hour should be long enough. I watch as archaeologists put forth another
theory about the lost city of Atlantis. I'd like to watch till the end but
eyes won't stay open. The sound of the TV is starting to fade as I float
towards much-needed sleep. Finally, I fall asleep.

But it was only a few minutes later that I was woken by a strange raspy
sensation on my lips. I open my eyes to see Chloe standing on my chest, less
than an inch away from my face, licking my lips with her raspy little
tongue. Aww, how sweet, Chloe was giving me Kitty Kisses. But wait... how on
earth did she beat me back to the bedroom? I *swear* I saw her eating with
the others when I left them in the kitchen. But *somehow* she sneaked into
the bedroom and kept out of sight until I fell asleep.

Now I know for sure that I was not imagining things when I thought I saw
Chloe smile...