When I’m a guest in a friend’s house, I try to follow any instructions my host or hostess may give me. After all, it’s not a hotel or resort. When a host or hostess says “make yourself at home,” they mean “we are glad you’re here, help yourself to the food and libations in the larder, but please don’t rifle through our personal papers and the medicine cabinet.”
One instruction I received before retiring in Shelley’s comfortable family room:
“Keep the door shut so Blossom doesn’t get in. She likes to visit.”
It’s been a long time since I lived with a cat; I forgot how clever and crafty they can be. They can leap on top of refrigerators and china closets and finagle their way through the smallest crack in the door jamb. Keeping the door shut means securely shut with no tiny sliver available for nocturnal feline gymnastics. If the door can be locked, lock it and pray that the cat does not have a key.
When a cat calls in the middle of the night, they’re not visiting to be sociable; there is something they want.
Like a midnight sentry, Blossom slinked in, identified herself and then, abruptly left. Being a resilient sleeper, I drifted back into dreamland.
It’s morning now and the family is starting to bustle. Shelley asked me how I slept and I quickly responded,
“Like a stone in a heavenly bed.”
It’s going to be a busy day for Shelley; she’s got more company coming. She’s got last minute cleaning to do and a roast to get into the oven. She won’t have time to read my blog until maybe around midnight.
Right, Blossom?
Julie-Ann Baumer 
Our cat, an all-white, red and blue-eyed (and true to the laws of genetics, deaf in the ear opposite her blue eye), half-stone Neapolitan scrapper, sleeps mostly on my bed at night. While she often curls up and FLOPS on my hip, she will also fit between any open legs, making them uncomfortably hot. Her 3 kg is actually quite a heavy weight on the blanket, making it uncomfortable to move. Lately she is prone to climbing on my chest and practicing her pincushion needle tests, often sleeping astraddle me. Accustomed to burying her head in my hand, she has now taken to burying it in my face, and not gently–for a 7 lb cat, she deals quite a head butt.
My sleep suffers accordingly.
I enjoy other people’s pets, but do not miss the sleep issues caused by having one of my own. Cheers to you, Not Reggie Black! You’re well into the jolly day!
Actually, it’s 00:01 as I reply, all gifts finally under the tree, libations consumed, off to bed.