Sleeping Cat Trivia

I haven't been provided much material this past week, because Maxie had decided that the only inspiration she'd condescend to contribute to this week's entry was to...sleep.

We all know how much cats sleep in a day, and Maxie decided to rub it in a little further. So when I told her that I needed some material for my blog, this is what I got:

"You want MOI to give you material?" *kitty evil eye*

Using my highly acute *snicker* sense of observation, I attempted to chronicle Maxie's sleep periods. The first one is the 3 o'clock position. Difficulty level: 1/5. Cat is able to achieve this position at any time provided there's no play or tuna involved. Similar positions include the 9 o'clock and the 12 o'clock. Any approach by human will wake cat up. Maxie has never been found in the 6 o'clock position before.

 

Pre 3 o'clock

The initial sleep position: the 3 o'clock

Next position, the twist. Difficulty level: 2/5. Cat must subconsciously twist body around from the 3 o'clock position during sleep without waking. Usually achieved when no disturbances occur during the 3 o'clock, including but not limited to stupid human walking towards cat and giving cat a stroke or two.

The twist.

Waking from the twist

Following that is "The Pose". Difficulty level: 3/5 to 4/5. Cat will evolve from the twist and ensure that a suitably impressive pose is achieved while in deep sleep. A favourite pose may be achieved if the subconscious was trained deep enough to deviate towards a default deep sleep position. This is generally acknowledged as the best time to photograph cat. Any disturbances such as attempted stroking or attention seeking from human will result in an eye popping open and closing again. Cat may decide to downgrade to the twist if disturbance warranted any action.

Kung fu cat pose

If one side gets too hot, roll over to the other and assume previous pose in reverse

The final position, that which only Grandmasters of Kitty Sleep have mastered, is the Assisted Sleep Mode. Difficulty level: 5/5. Cat must telegraph their intentions to their human slave companion and demand their humans to assist feline into position. In Maxie's case, she has successfully trained her human to know when she requires Assisted Sleep Mode under the covers of the blanket.

Maxie in Assisted Sleep mode on Friday morning

1 hour later...

Assisted Sleep Mode on Sunday morning

Making sure she's still alive.

So all in all, I guess I should be proud that Maxie is a Grandmaster in Kitty Sleep. No pictures for other bits of the story here, but I'll just describe.

Maxie decided to go on a sleep run (as usual) one day during the week. She started from the 3 o'clock, went into the twist, switched to a 12 o'clock, twisted into a 9 o'clock, and kept me waiting for a 6 o'clock, which still hasn't happened, as she went from the 9 o'clock into The Pose. She stayed like this until I climbed into bed next to her to read, whereupon she opened an eyelid, devolved into the twist between 9 and 12 o'clock, and was soon back in deep sleep. I shall endeavour to catch her in the 6 o'clock one day!

In the meantime, I had a lot of photo opportunities during The Pose, some of which I shall share with you for sheer "aww" material.

"Ultraman"

Until next week, dear readers, keep an eye out for other Grandmaster kitties!