Bedtime for Bonzo...

So, those of you with a barnyard full of animals, a few questions...

- When it's time for bed, do you find yourself surrounded by furry creatures?
- Do you wind up having to protect various extremities from those creatures playing and attacking them?
- When you have more than one creature in addition to the humans, do they fight for bed supremacy?

I've recently posted "Bedcat" for most my answers... when it's approved in the queue, look for it on Easily Addictive.

Every now and then, Nardo and Edloe will share the same space. This happens when Edloe falls sound asleep and Nardo just sneaks by and flumps down next to her or butt-to-butt with her. Then when one or the other wakes up (usually Edloe) there's an argument or dsicussion between them and both zoom off in total cat-denial.

[mjfrombuffalo[$]]

- When it's time for bed, do you find yourself surrounded by furry creatures?
Oh yes indeedy. Buffy and Astro (cats) used to BOTH sleep with me, until Hubby came along and Buffy, in a huff, decided that was it for him. Astro tends to get out of bed when Hubby enters it, but sneaks back in in the middle of the night (always on MY side of the bed, knowing Hubby will kick him off if he knows Astro is there). Hubby, another furry creature, is always there too.

- Do you wind up having to protect various extremities from those creatures playing and attacking them?
Since they're both declawed in the front, not too much worry there, and Astro's had 10 teeth removed, so the worst he can do when he plays "catch the toes wiggling under the blanket" is gum my toes to death through the blanket.

- When you have more than one creature in addition to the humans, do they fight for bed supremacy?
Not too much. It only occurs when Buffy's already napping on the bed and I get in, at which point Astro joins us. Astro has a habit of flopping himself on Buffy, which Buffy sometimes tolerates. When he's not in a tolerant mood, Buffy gives Astro a nasty look and slowly gets up and leaves the bed in an ever-so-dignified-and-disdainful way (as only cats can do).

mj

[kurt_messick]

It isn't bedtime unless three out of four cats on on the bed/sofa (whichever I happen to be utilising that night). They will rotate through the night, but there will always be at least one at every point in the night, I've discovered. There are always three as I'm drifting off to sleep (in different combinations).

Perhaps it is because I'm usually only home every other night.

[murasaki]

- When it's time for bed, do you find yourself surrounded by furry creatures? At least one of the two familiars will hit the bed when I do, whether I'm going to sleep or just reading. I frequently find myself trapped in between the two of them and not able to roll over. I have, only once, accidentally flipped the cat on the edge of the bed onto the floor when I rolled over and took the covers with me.

- Do you wind up having to protect various extremities from those creatures playing and attacking them? Usually they attack my feet moving under the covers so I don't feel anything. The familiars are also declawed.

- When you have more than one creature in addition to the humans, do they fight for bed supremacy? They fight for bed supremacy all the time, but it's usually large enough for the three of us. When my husband is in town, it's kind of a crunch for the four of us (since the cats seem to like to sleep cross-wise instead of lengthwise) but we make do.

One of my kitties will get completely under the covers. She doesn't stay long (maybe 10 minutes) but she likes to cuddle. The other kitty likes to be between the comforter and mink blanket. She'll stay there all night.

--naomi

[jenninca]

One of the cats we had when I was young was a wild man. He wanted to be where he wanted to be and nothing was going to stop him.

He liked to sleep on top of my covers while I was under them. That was fine, until he woke up in the middle of the night and decided that my toes were vicious enemies. Did that cat have claws! I can't tell you the number of nights I awoke in great toe pain.

We decided that I would close (and lock--he could nose his way into my room even if the door was closed because it didn't latch properly) my door at night, but he scratched that all up. My parents didn't like that.

So they put this huge sheet of masonite in front of the stairwell to keep him downstairs. In the middle of the night, my parents were awakened by what they thought was someone trying to break in. Turns out the cat had knocked over the board trying to get upstairs.

We finally decided that the cat slept outside.

(Funny, he didn't ever want to sleep with anyone else. How did I get to be the lucky one?)

Cindy

[pageclot[$]]

When bedtime arrives, so do the cats.

Penny nestles between my feet above the covers. Gemma usually waits until Penny is asleep and then nestles between my knees. Whenever I turn over, I have to extricate myself one leg at a time. Not the first thing I'm thinking about when I'm asleep.

Otto is a transitory sleeper. He'll hop up on the bed, and then the clock radio table so he can look out the window, and then he'll be off on his appointed rounds.

Unless he's not feeling well. Once, he ate a suet cake we bought for outdoor birds, and that night, he tunnelled under the covers and slept between us, wanting only to be near us.

Clarice, at 13 pounds, is not the most graceful bed-jumper. After scrabbling up to the top of the bed, the next sound usually heard is my painful whimpering, clutching various parts of my scratched body. She likes to sit on our chests. It's like having an anvil on your chest.

Sometimes we'll wake up alone, and sometimes we wake up with 2 or 3 cats (never the same ones that were there when we went to sleep) still flaked out.

p

[magenta321]

My animals are not allowed on beds or couches. However, I sleep over a friends house from time to time. He lets me sleep in his guest bedroom, which his cat things is her bedroom. I close the door, and sometime in the middle of the night, she opens it and is ticked off. Then, she goes crazy on my feet. I can't stand it!

Actually, I lied now that I think about it. The dog is not allowed on any furnature. The cat was impossible to teach not to lay on the couch, so we finally just gave in. He doesn't lay on our beds though. My dog is insanely jealous of my cat. He tries to lay in the kitty's spot all of the time. You can yell at him, and he just looks at you like "well the cat gets to lay here!" You can threaten to hit him by raising your hand, but he gives you the same look. If you roll up a newspaper and make noise and or hit him with it, you still get the same look. UG! The only way to get him off of the couch is to extend your legs over him. Once you move your legs onto any part of him, he flips and gets off the couch post haste! We also have "scat mats" to keep him off of the couches too. The work, but they can't be on when you are sitting on the couch (unless you want to shock your own arse, which I accidentially did once -- OWIE!)

[hypotenuse]

My dawg Sim is mortally offended that I do not allow her to sleep on my bed. Especially as the kitties sneak up there after I go to sleep. Thing is, they can do so without waking me up. She cannot. Too big.

Poor baby.

I used to have my bed right to the side of a window. And I normally would sleep (during the warmer months) with the window open and the storm window up. The screen was down so the cats couldn't get out, but they loved to stretch out on the window sill and watch life go by.

But during the wee hours, when the world was quiet and everyone was asleep in bed, WWIII would break out at my house. It was the kitties. They would run up and down the hall, up and down the stairwell, beat a circular path - through the den, on to the kitchen, diningroom, livingroom, foyer, then back down the hallway. Culminating in a dash through my room, across my bed (with me asleep in it), and onto the window sill.

It is somewhat unnerving to wake up with what sounds and feels like a herd of elephants racing across your back, up your neck, over your head, only to have it disappear into the night, out of your window.

Lynne

Originally posted by hypotenuse
It is somewhat unnerving to wake up with what sounds and feels like a herd of elephants racing across your back, up your neck, over your head, only to have it disappear into the night, out of your window.

Much worse to have what feels like a single icky rat leaping across your face at full tilt, claws extended, and wake up immediately with a few bloody clawmarks. Piper's done that before, and I've gotten in the habit of sleeping with the pillows arranged to shield my face. Might get an eyemask to help with blocking light as well as icky kitty feet, too.

Originally posted by pageclot
Clarice, at 13 pounds, is not the most graceful bed-jumper. After scrabbling up to the top of the bed, the next sound usually heard is my painful whimpering, clutching various parts of my scratched body. She likes to sit on our chests. It's like having an anvil on your chest. [/b]

Have you considered leaving some sort of stepping-stool object like a footlocker or a low cushion at the foot of the bed to allow this cat to gradually get up on the bed? Edloe the fat kitty has a step at the foot of our bed so she can get up without too much fuss and so that she can get down without hurting herself. We've also got a few steps set out in the living room so she can get up to the table with the water dishes... (another story/thread there)

[hadassahchana[$]]

Bedtime is not restful for me, although it seems to be getting better.

We have a family bed, so the two youngest were in my bed. When they slept with me, so did both of the older cats (when Mouse was still alive) Mouse snored, Bat farts all night long, and one of the children clicked his teeth. I just read a lot.

Now, the kids are in their own bed, and Bat feels she is entitled to sleep between the down duvet and the duvet cover, making turning over a bit tricky.

When we got the new kittens, it was exhausting - just like having a new baby in the house! They needed cuddles, they wanted me to watch them as they ate, the raced and jumped...oy vey! Now, they both sleep on either side of my head, right on my pillows. Alexander was separated from his mum when he was only a few days old, so he has this nursing thing going - he curls up on top of my head, and sucks on my Scrunchie (ponytail holder) all night long. He is one loud guy- he sucks and purrs right in my ear! I hope he weans soon.

Of course, both kittens wait until we go to sleep before playing chase- up across my face, down my body, jump over into the kids' bed (and stick a paw in an ear, just to see what will happen ) down the stairs, up the stairs, accross my face again and up onto the window ledge. the vet says they need to exercise. He didn't offer to let them exercise in his bedroom, I noticed.

Cindy, exhausted cat mom