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Telepathy
Anyone that doesn’t believe in telepathy, doesn’t own a pet. At least they don’t own Junior. Have you ever noticed that you can be sound asleep when…Something. Disturbs. You. Not a noise. Not a movement. Perhaps it is the very lack of movement. Or perhaps it is: The Stare. Yes, pet owners everywhere know of The Stare. It’s that telepathic thing that cats (and dogs too, I think) do in the morning when they have determined it is time for you to get up. They Stare.
Soon, even though you are asleep and cannot possibly see The Stare, your sleep is disturbed. You don’t open your eyes right away, no, you turn over, wondering why you are awake. It’s quiet. There’s no reason to get up. Except…what is that feeling????
Eventually, your eyes open. It’s not really light out. What has disturbed you??? Why…And there it is. Maybe at the side of the bed. Maybe at the foot of the bed. No, he isn’t moving, but…he is Staring. It is at this point that dogs give a hopeful little whine and duck their head. Cats…stare. They don’t blink. At best, they might lick their front paw before returning to The Stare.
You can try to go back to sleep. You know it won’t work. The Stare is glaring at you. It’s filled with Hopefulness. It’s filled with Encouragement. If ignored for more than, say, thirty seconds, it’s filled with Demand. It might give a punctual SIGH and lie down, head on paws, but The Stare doesn’t stop.
You may as well get up and let the cat/dog out, feed it, whatever. THEN and only then, will the cat stop sending you telepathic messages.
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Every word you have typed in this post is the absolute truth! Fortunately, it does not happen often, but when it does, it is just as you said “when…Something. Disturbs. You. Not a noise. Not a movement.”
I don’t even have to crack an eye open to know when it is the Stare that has disturbed me, and I will lay very still and try to breathe as though I’m still asleep, but they can tell, they know I’m awake now. And that’s when the dog will let out the smallest of sounds. And if I don’t get up, the sound gets a little more insistent, then the other dog gets up and joins in.
Now, if it’s the weekend, and we just want to sleep in a little, we can say “shhh, lay down” and the dog will lay down (unless it is absolutely urgent that they go out to relieve themselves.)
All of the dogs I have ever had and the two I have now have employed the use of the Stare. But our first German Shepherd wouldn’t rely on the effectiveness of the Stare alone. He would also set his head heavily upon the bed, and if you continued to ignore him, he would just lift his head again and set it down more insistently, and would repeat this action until I finally got up.
Klaus tries to put his head up on the bed, but we have a much taller mattress & box spring now, and he has to stretch his neck upward to see over the bed. Poor Tora can barely get the tip of her nose to reach the top of the bed. But it’s enough to allow the Stare to penetrate my subconscious.
By the way, Yunior is looking muy guapo!
Comment by Trina — March 3, 2009 @ 12:27 pm
BMHusband’s old cat used to come and plant himself on his chest and Stare. Junior does the stare thing for a while and if it doesn’t work, he does the big sigh and sits down–usually on at least one of my feet. How a 7 pound cat can sit with the effect of an elephant is beyond me–this same cat can jump lightly on the bed like a whisper when he wants!
Junior is looking mighty good these days and we’re very grateful. He has a bit of a swollen lip or gums at the moment (we’re not sure if he snagged a bee, a bug or got a bit of a scratch from playing with mom Scamp) It doesn’t seem to bother him. He eats as pigletty as ever and is happy as can be. I’m hoping it doesn’t manage to turn itself into another vet visit. He must like the vet. He seems bent on having things happen to him!
Comment by Maria — March 3, 2009 @ 12:40 pm