bed time ritual with cats

"Ann" wrote in message news:QY3yc.22$Jk5.15@lakeread02...
Do you have a bed time ritual with your cats?

I like to know where my cats are before I go to bed even tho the are indoor
cats. Cinnamon has been closed in a closet more than one time or left on the
porch. Before I turn out the last light in the kitchen I always say good
night to Cinnamon and Abby and pet them. (This is a good way to count
noses.) As I head up stairs I will call them to come to bed with me. Most
nights they will get on the bed with me. Some times just for more petting
and other times they will stay all night.

Ann

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