Tag: cat naps

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Stay at Home Order Tips from the Cats

Kitten Tuesday Quarantine Edition

It’s been a while since I posted for kitten Tuesday and I was thinking that y’all might be up for a big dose of cuteness. Also, Anabel and Sally wanted to share some stay at home order tips, so here you go!

I realize that having to stay home all the time is a big change for most of us, but for Anabel and Sally, it is standard operating procedure. They would be much more bothered by actually having to get in the car and go anywhere. Even when Anabel sits by the back door watching Mr. Man puttering around in the driveway, she is not inclined to step out when I open the door for a trek to the laundry room.

Full disclosure: my sister sent me these tips in a meme, but Sally and Anabel, who are professional at stay-at-home-quarantine protocols, did endorse the recommendations.

Nap early, nap often

As I write this Anabel and Sally are very busily partaking in their afternoon nap.  They never seem to let having their nap interrupted prevent them from resuming napping as soon as it is appropriate. I think this attitude can apply to all sorts of stay-at-home activities. You just have to go with the flow and know that you will get back to whatever it was that you were trying to get done as soon as it is feasible.

Seek out sunbeams

I would argue that this is probably the single most useful tip that you can adopt from cats in quarantine. A little sunlight does a world of good for me, although I usually grant myself the extravagance of taking my sunlight outside of the house (go for a walk, it’ll be ok, I promise).

Eat on a regular schedule

Sure, it’s easier to just have food out and snack all day long, but at some point, you are going to have to put your real pants on again, just sayin’.

Bonus tip here: why not use the fancy dishes?

Keep yourself clean

You don’t need to adopt a cat’s multiple times a day cleaning routine, but do take a shower, even if you don’t “need” one.  Afterwards, put on a clean pair of sweatpants (even though the ones you were wearing yesterday are your favorite and they are practically clean after all).

It’s ok to run around the house screaming when it all gets to be too much

Or in Sally and Anabel’s case, to have a little knock down, blow out brawl just to clear the air.  I mean these cats will go at it.  Someone is chasing the other one from room to room. One of them is pouncing on the other one. There is some hissing and growling.  And then they are done. And you will probably find them cuddling an hour later.  Sometimes you just have to get it out of your system.  But once you have, you need to drop it, no holding a grudge.

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Kitten Day Dreams

After I wrote about the kittens’ nighttime sleeping routine, I began cataloguing where they sleep during the day, the locations of kitten day dreams. 

Even though they have the run of the house, there are around a half-dozen places where they are most likely to be found during daytime naps.  This simplifies kitten inventory.  Yes, I will go around the house at least once a day making sure that I can locate both kittens. Even if all of the windows are closed and no one has gone outside.  Do I think they have gotten out?  No, not really.  They are very good about waiting at the door but not trying to get out.  But one of them has accidentally gotten stuck in my closet at least once and the thought of having to clean up what could happen if a kitten is trapped in there for too long gives me nightmares.

They still really like the front room which was the kitten nursery when they first came home.  That room gets a lot of sun and is always warmer during the day; I like hanging out in there too.  There are a bunch of nice little kitten-sized nap spots that they will rotate through over the course of a day.  One of Anabel’s favorites is a basket full of blankets.

I keep their travel crate open on the floor next to my desk.  When they very first came home, they would go back in there to sleep, it was their safe place.  The vet encouraged me to leave it out and open for them; if there is an emergency of some sort, it will be easily accessible, and they will be used to it.  Anabel doesn’t really use it anymore, but after I have been sitting at my desk for a bit, Sally will head in there and sack out for the day.

Sally also has a wicker chair that is HIS chair.  Anabel likes to sleep on Mr. Man’s desk chair.  Once, he was gone for three days and she barely moved.

There is also a sort-of perch that Mr. Man created for them that consists of a crate, covered with a towel, on top of an end table.  This is a favorite place for both of them, it is usually just a matter of who claims it first.

I like that I rarely find them hiding out under furniture.  Occasionally Anabel will go hide out under the futon.  Unlike Emma, whose default was under the bed, that is the last resort place to look for Anabel.

When I used to work at the dining table, they would keep my company by taking their naps in there.  They both had their designated chairs and after they took a lap across the table to inspect my materials, they would retire to their designated chairs.

I have yet to catch either of them napping in the living room.