I woke slowly, gradually becoming aware of a strange noise in my room. “What - ?” I croaked, rolling over.
Freddie was standing on the mattress next to me, whining and making general sad noises.
“What is it?” I crooned, reaching for him.
“It’s late and I’m so hungry,” he cried.
I shook my head. “We talked about this. The time changed. Your breakfast isn’t late for another – “ I fumbled for my phone and looked at it with a slight groan – “forty-five minutes.” I looked at him. “Can you at least wait for my alarm to go off before you start talking at me?”
He pressed his head into my hand, rubbing the fur of his face against my skin. “Wasting away,” he whined.
I snorted.
A gentle reminder of how we do things: 🐱🐶🐦
- Do not troll the diary. If you hate pootie diaries, leave now. No harm, no foul.
- Please do share pics of your fur kids! If you have health/behavior issues with your pets, feel free to bring it to the community.
- Pooties are cats; Woozles are dogs. Birds... are birds! Peeps are people.
- Whatever happens in the outer blog STAYS in the outer blog. If you’re having “issues” with another Kossack, keep it “out there.” This is a place to relax and play; please treat it accordingly.
- There are some pics we never post: snakes, creepy crawlies, any and all photos that depict or encourage human cruelty toward animals. These are considered “out of bounds” and will not be tolerated. If we alert you to it, please remember that we do have phobic peeps who react strongly to them. If you keep posting banned pics...well then...the Tigress will have to take matters in hand. Or, paw.
Teeth brushed, I quickly threw on my workout clothes and headed for my bedroom door. Freddie raced out in front of me. Usually he’ll wait to make sure I’m actually going down the stairs, but this morning he didn’t even look back as he flew down to the first floor.
I grinned, bouncing down the stairs after him. I was always glad whenever he was eager to eat. He can be picky and has had bouts of illness over the last few years so mealtimes can be a little stressful if he isn’t into it.
I made it to the kitchen before he did. He usually takes a right at the bottom of the stairs to check that his water is still there and full before he joins me in the kitchen, and this morning was no exception. As I scooped the fragrant food onto a clean dish, he sauntered in and started rubbing his body hard against the back of my shins.
“Alright,” I said, picking up the food dish and turning to his eating mat. “Food for you,” I told him as I set the dish down. I waited for him to approach it so I could give him a quick stroke before I straightened.
He immediately and eagerly started eating. It was loud.
“Gross,” I said, affectionately.
Freddie joined me on the couch once he’d eaten his fill, bringing with him the scent of Fancy Feast. I patted my furry blanket covered lap, but he ignored me, choosing to wash his face instead.
I waited for him to finish, then patted my lap again. He climbed on and settled down, stretched out between my legs, facing my feet. It was a very convenient way for him to lie on my lap; perfect for administering his insulin.
Once that was done and he was eating his treats, I relaxed back into my seat and waited for him to be done with my lap. He curled up, pushing my knees further apart, getting comfortable.
“Going to work?” he asked me.
“Not today,” I said. “I had to work on Monday so I got today off instead.”
He opened his eyes and looked up at me without lifting his head from his paws. “But you’re still leaving,” he said, more a statement than a question.
“I plan to go to the gym,” I explained to him. “But other than that I don’t have much of an agenda.”
He closed his eyes again.
I woke suddenly, surprised to find myself still under the furry blanket on the couch. I had fallen asleep at some point, tired from my early wakeup call and extra warm and cozy with a sleeping cat on my lap.
Speaking of which, I looked around for him. He was curled up on top of the soft, furry throw pillow on the couch next to me. He looked extremely comfortable and happy.
I felt extremely comfortable and happy.
I closed my eyes.
“Shoot!” I cried, waking all at once. Freddie’s head shot up at my outburst and looked over at me curiously. “I’ve been napping on this couch for over an hour!” I told him.
He thought about it. “So?” he said, finally.
I was a little taken aback at this. “So…I’m not being very productive,” I said, slowly, thinking about it.
He frowned. “You said you don’t have to go to work,” he pointed out.
“No, it’s my day off,” I confirmed.
“And you said you don’t have anything else to do,” he reminded me.
“I don’t,” I said, staring off into the distance, thinking about it.
“What’s the problem?” he wondered.
I was silent for a few minutes. “I wanted to go to the gym,” I said, finally.
“You have all day for that,” he said, climbing back onto my lap and curling up. “Let’s keep napping.” As if to prove his point, he closed his eyes and dropped off to sleep.
I took a deep breath and blew it out. “Okay,” I said. I looked over at the table next to the couch and saw my library book. Picking it up, I opened it and started to read, relaxing again.
“I should at least take a shower,” I told my cat some time later.
“Just groom right here,” he said, simply. “You can sleep again after.”
I shook my head. “Humans don’t do it that way,” I explained. “I need water and soap.”
He gave his paw a few thoughtful licks then said, “humans are strange sorts of cats. None of you know what you’re doing at any point. Incompetent, the whole lot of you.”
I thought about explaining to him the difference between felines and primates and decided against it. “We sure are,” I agreed, instead.
I plucked Freddie off my lap, gave him a quick hug, then set him gently on the couch next to me. Standing, I stretched (“Gooooooood streeeeeetch,” Freddie said) feeling a little stiff and sore from my inactivity. Looking at my watch, I noted the time and was determined to start what would be a productive afternoon after such a lazy morning.
Freddie followed me up the stairs. “Are we going to nap in the human bed?” he wondered, trotting along at my heels.
“No,” I said. “Well, you can. I’m going to shower and get dressed.”
“That sounds like a bad idea,” he said, hopping up on the mattress and watching me choose my outfit for the day.
“I’m sure it sounds terrible to a cat,” I said, absently. “But humans have got to get things done.”
“Why?” he asked, innocently.
I turned to look at him, my hands full of clothing. He was sitting in the middle of my bed, watching me with all of his attention.
“I always feel terrible when I don’t do anything,” I explained.
“You were sleeping,” he said. “That’s not doing nothing.”
“Rest is important,” I agreed, setting the clothes in a pile at the end of the bed.
He stood and turned in a full circle, then curled up, his nose under the tip of his tail.
It looked really comfortable.
I woke an unknown amount of time later, a mild headache pulsing behind my eyes, my right arm tingling with pins and needles, a result of my head resting on my bicep. I was still wrapped in my post-shower towel, the clothes I had picked out in an untidy pile beneath my torso. I was curled up around the cat who was still in a tight ball at the center of the mattress.
I had taken a shower, though, so success there.
I sat up, rubbing my hand over my face. I was groggy and achy and mildly surprised that I had spent so much time sleeping today. I’m not usually a napper.
Freddie woke all at once, stood, and arched his back in a stretch that went from the tips of his ears all the way to his toes. I was extremely jealous.
”Dinner?” he asked, giving me a feline grin.
I picked up my watch. “No, it’s not time yet.”
He deflated. “It’s getting dark,” he pointed out.
”Time change,” I said on a sigh.
”Human nonsense,” he said, jumping off the bed and leaving the room.
”It’s only fair since I’ve spent all day in kitty nonsense,” I called after him.
He paused at the door. “Now you’re well rested and you’ll feel really good tomorrow,” he said, then left the room, tail in the air and curled gracefully at the tip.
I sat back down on the bed, stunned. “Well, damn,” I said to myself knowing he was right.
Happy Caturday, Peeps! I did have an odd day off this week after getting called in to work on my normal day off and, having already run all the errands I needed for the week before and after work on Monday, found myself at loose ends. Freddie and I spent most of the day vegging on the couch and napping together. It was lovely.
