Frazz by Jef Mallett for December 22, 2012

I like the way she thinks….I have a few cats who sleep with me…Squint has this habit of stealing my pillow and laying his belly on my bald (i.e. heat venting) head..but MAN is it nice to wake up to him purring in my ear….my favorite sound in the world after my wife’s laughter.

I used to have one that went into a routine at bedtime; she would clean herself, then when I turned the light off, she would perch on the bedroom window sill, checking out the scene. Then she would jump down using my belly as a cushion. She would then curl up on my right arm with her tail between my fingers and her head on my shoulder, purring until she was asleep. She would stay that way until morning, when I would wake up with her face in my long white beard. I still miss that cat.

My cat likes to snuggle close at night. I put my arm around her and we keep each other warm. When she’s really content, her purring isn’t just a rumble; it has a musical sound to it, a “singing purr”. If I turn over, she gets up and moves to the other side of the bed so she can be next to my face.

but, i thought cats steal souls while you are sleeping.

I’ve enjoyed this thread as much as i’ve enjoyed any. You’d ALL make good friends. And Spazoid’s “wife’s laughter” comment truly struck a chord.

I had one who would sleep next to me and then in the morning would gently flick my chin with his paw, telling me to wake up because it was time for his breakfast. Now I have two who sleep in the other bedroom because the dog won’t let them join us in the bed, but they also hop on the bed in the morn while the dog is still sleeping to remind me that it’s time for their breakfast.

Great one today – I’m warm and fuzzy just thinking about it. Thanks everyone for sharing stories – they help me remember (with a smile) my dear departed fur-faces.

My warmest fuzziest moment was a few decades ago when I awoke with my favorite cat under the covers stretched out on my chest with his little face resting on mine, and my arms around him. When he died at 16, I cried every day for over a year – he was truly my soulmate. I still miss him, but yes, I have other cats – 5 currently, including 22 year old Momcat who knew him. Such nice people posting today!

In my case it’s cat-sized dogs.

If I stay too long at my computer at bedtime, Calista Flockwhiskers meows continuously at my feet until I shut down. Then she leads me to the bedroom, herds me into bed, and lies on my feet, purring loudly. Madame Bouqui awakens me at precisely eight-thirty in the morning by licking my eyelids. Ahh, Cats!

“Want what you have,” Billy Cruiser

One cat I had (Adopted 1991, Died 1997) used to wake me up by getting up on the headboard and swishing her tail across my face. When I finally showed signs of stirring, she launched herself to land squarely on my stomach. At night she nagged me until I came to bed.

Today’s strip reminded me of a great book, How to Want What You Have, by Timothy Miller, Harper Collins, 1996.

I think my Amber had all others beat. I went through a deep depression after a car accident. Thought about suicide, then just crawled into bed to stay. Except Amber didn’t like that. Nibbled on my toes, walked on my stomach, pounced on my sore back, and repeated this every day, or every time I was in bed too long. I finally got the message and got on with living. She saved my life, and I miss her so. She died at a grumpy 18years. Grumpy to everyone else, to me she was my angel.

I heard it said this way, and it has stayed with me… The secret to happiness is not to have what you want, but to want what you have.

The morning after Marco the Magnificat (when he was still just a Magnifikitten) came to live with me, I was awakened by a tiny paw softly patting my eyelid. I opened my eyes to see a tiny black and white ball of fuzz, sitting by my pillow, watching me sleep, and purring like a miniature Cadillac. In that moment I knew that he did not belong to me. I belonged to him.

While I live in a compound frequented by a great-spirited cat factory and many of her black-furred children, I thought the main theme today wasn’t so much about Katz as it is about…really wanting what you have, each day and every day, and paying at least as much attention to THAT as our endlessly multiplying WANTS and DESIRES…

I woke up this morning to find Yuki cat sleeping on my chest, Sam, my giant flame point Birman, sleeping between my knees, Milo, the piebald kitty, curled up by my ankles and Pudge, the white princess with one blue and one yellow eye, nestled near my shoulder. It was difficult to leave the comfort of that bed this morning.

@Night-Gaunt49 “It is financially impossible…”

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I know what you mean, having just spent $85.00 on food for my dog and three cats. (And I don’t buy the highest-priced stuff, either.) If I couldn’t manage it at all, I think I’d be volunteering at a shelter: specifically a cat shelter. Every time I enter a Petsmart store I have to visit the adoptable kitties. All of ours have come from shelters, and all have been “darling companions” (nod to the Lovin’ Spoonful). I hope this will be the year your fortunes expand to include a snuggler of some sort!

When I married my dear husband, he came with a cat, who was my stepcat. She tolerated me, and I had never had a cat before and still wasn’t impressed. When she died, dear husband said he couldn’t live without a cat, so we went to the cat shelter and adopted 2. When Mick chose me I finally got how wonderful they are. The poster above was correct, they may not steal you’re soul but they certainly do steal you’re heart, and they are unrepentant about it! I’m lucky to live with 2 cats and a lovely husband! Life is grand!

Because Garfield is nothing like a real cat, and therefore does not recall pleasant memories and funny stories?

@Spazoid

…And a wonderful husband!