Crazy Cat Mom

I have two beautiful, spoiled cats who are like children to me. Wait, before you get the thought in your head that I'm THAT woman, the crazy cat lady wearing a muu muu and shaking her broom at the neighbor kids, I'm way ahead of you. I won't be sporting any bumper stickers like, "Proud parent of a calico 'wildcat'" or "My cat is smarter than your honor student" (only because I haven't found a place that sells them yet, but that's beside the point.)

Today, I was woken up at 4 a.m. by the feel of soft cotton balls lightly touching my face. In my dream, I imagined fluffy pink powder puffs floating through the air, a peaceful scene relaxing enough to keep me in a deep slumber a little while longer. But then, the touch of those cotton balls lightly touching my face hit with just a little more pressure than before. Soon, those light, heavenly cotton balls were tapping my face heavily and insistently... and with sharp, flesh-slicing claws outdrawn! My damn cat was waking me up, like she does every morning, way too early by sitting on my chest and repeatedly smacking my face (not my arm or chest or back, as if to politely jimmy me awake) with her paw. The reason for the obnoxiously early wake-up call? Breakfast, of course. Henri, my regimented feline daughter insists on being fed very early. I would understand if she had, perhaps an early meeting or wanted to get a head start on her day...

I realize that I indulge them, which is nobody's fault but my own. But I also realize that my feline kids most-likely don't understand the concept of sleeping in or the need for rest because I have a big day ahead (I hope they don't, or else they're in trouble,) so there's no reason to punish them for waking me up. So, when they go back to bed after they've had their early breakfast and their bellies are full, and I have to get up a few hours later with a foggy head and sleep in my eyes, I don't hold a grudge.

This morning I got up at the crack of dawn to feed my spoiled babies then woke up hours later to get ready for work. But when I was attempting to drag my weary bones out of bed, I bounced the mattress just a little too hard for their liking and woke up my two sleeping beauties. I got the nastiest-looking, devil eyes half-opened, not-even-lifting-my-head-from-this-pillow scowl from two cats you ever would see! A look that says, you have personally offended and most definitely insulted me with your mid-morning disturbance. If you have a cat (any cat) you know that look... It says, "I love you, but I will cut you..."

But, I love my cats just as they are. Sure, they're spoiled, demanding, they know what they want and will accept nothing less, but how else would I know that they're mine? They are, afterall, their mother's "children."