Fredcat's nap hand and other sleepy tales

One of the nicest activities that Fredcat enjoys is the art of sleeping. It is not necessarily the regularity of the process but the sheer volume of it all which appeals. His human friends like the occasional catnap (forgive the pun) but Fredcat positively dwarfs their efforts with his seemingly gigantic sleep-ins.

Do not disturb!

This is not to say that he forgets to wake at important times - like at 5.30 in the morning (when he clearly needs to be fed) or at 3 o'clock in the afternoon (when he finds it important to have his afternoon tea or evening meal). No, he remembers these significant times quite easily, thank you very much. At other times he is quite relaxed and takes a devil-may-care attitude to actual physical activities like running, grooming and even walking around, by simply ignoring the potential for such activities and getting on with his true calling.... his one and only pastime.... sleeping.

On human house-cleaning days Fredcat seems to have been inoculated against all extraneous noises and carries on snoozing whilst all around him resound the clanking noises of human house-cleaning activity. The only sound causing him displeasure whilst sleeping is the sound of a vacuum cleaner.

Sleeping is apparently best accomplished on a rumpled bed, and humans must consider it most unsafe to approach a Fredcat who has settled down to a dozen hours of restful kip on an unmade human bed, as this is clearly the best and most comfortable place in the world. Fredcat has provided his human family with clear instructions to avoid any such bedmaking if he has already settled down for his rest. If, however, he has yet to discover said unmade bed, then it is fair game for the humans to make the bed quickly and depart before being discovered. Fredcat recognises these subterfuges but usually hasn't the energy to complain at being thwarted. The battle may have been won, for the war is still up for grabs ...

Other useful Fredcat sleeping areas include any freshly dusted chair, and the top of (or near the top of) the stairs, as there always the faint (but entertaining) chance of Fredcat's tripping unwary humans.

There is one setting that Fredcat likes almost as much as the crumpled bed. That is the Cathie desk, particularly if Cathie is working at her computer. Picture the scene - a monitor, a mouse (!) and a keyboard all sensibly lined up on the desk, ready for use. Then, lying on the keyboard, head neatly cushioned on the left hand set of keys, is a famous ginger and white head belonging to you know who...... Typing then becomes a one handed activity, with many useful letters like E,R,T,S,D totally unavailable. Hmmm.

It is at this point that Cathie usually decides to read a book. Perhaps it would be better for Cathie if she did not switch on the desk's halogen lamp, as this bathes the keyboard in a warm glow (which Fredcat loves) and, when combined with gentle music emanating from the PC's speakers, makes the whole desk environment a very attractive one to any roaming ginger and white feline.

There is a rumour going the rounds that Fredcat is prone to a little bit of snoring. This may surprise folks who do not live with a cat, but it is definitely Cathie's experience that Fredcat snores - albeit, ever so gently. This is different to purring or "ronning" noises which Fredcat produces (the latter noise demonstrating his French blood, we believe). Let us hope that he does not exhibit some of the other traits that bedevil some humans - mostly male - and that this is his only sleeping vice.

Occasionally Fredcat decides that his sleeping has finished for the night and, rather than waste the time, will practice his hunting skills in the dead of night. This occasionally leads to a small creature being imported into Fredcat's best human's home for presentation to said best human ... Let's close the door on that scene, shall we?