Cat-gone it!

My cat Tyrone and I have been buddies, night and day, for the past eight years. I still remember the first night after I brought him home, how I cradled him beside me in bed, afraid to fall into a deep sleep lest I roll over and crush that tiny, freaked-out kitten. Most nights since then, the closest my Tyrone comes to snuggling with me in bed is to curl up, outside the covers, on the corner of the foot of the bed. Sometimes, though, he paws at the top of the covers until I let him underneath. Then he typically checks how far down toward the foot of the bed he can explore before the airless darkness gets to him, and he crawls back up to the top asking to be let out. Or, he makes himself comfortable next to my leg and then, 30 seconds later, my bladder suddenly blurts out, "Hey! I need to be emptied!"

One morning earlier this week, Tyrone asked to be let in under the covers. I gave him a little extra space by raising my knee, providing a better view of the lower end of the bed. He made his way down to my feet and threw himself against them in an unbelievably warm, soft, sleepy ball. I thought, "Wow. This feels awesome! Tyrone is warming my feet. It feels like he could stay right there for a couple of hours. And miraculously, I don't have to pee!" After about two minutes of basking in this joyful realization, I started to drift off into my best sleep in weeks...

And that's when my alarm clock rang, 5:00 a.m. on a business day.