"You cannot look at a sleeping cat and feel tense." — Jane Pauley
Cat nap.
It's not a phrase that has leaked into our lexicon by happenstance. Cats sleep. They sleep
a lot. Naturally nocturnal, they tend to spend their days lazing about having one long, afternoon snooze after another.
As Leo has gotten older, the nap has become more and more his "thing." He gets up in the morning, has a bite to eat, plays a little, gets a little wild, and then
BAM! Out like a light for the entire afternoon.
I cannot say I really mind. Like the quote from Jane Pauley observes, there is no stress involved when you watch a kitty sleep — they just look so peaceful. And the way that their eyes turn up at the sides when they close them makes them look so happy.
Of course, Leo wouldn't be Leo without some sort of little eccentricity. That includes when he sleeps.
When he was smaller, he used to jump up onto a cushioned chair, curl up into a ball and snooze. He will still do this, though his new preferred snooze spot is on the bed.
Now, from what I can tell, Leo has two sleeping positions he favors:
The Stretch
— AND —
The Death Pose
He is almost at his seventh month of life, so he is already a big kitty. Sleeping on the bed gives him the chance to strrreeetch out all he likes. Oftentimes when he stretches out he shifts his head so that his chin is toward the ceiling. This then metamorphosed into the all-out laying flat on his back with his feet in the air pose I have dubbed, The Death Pose.
The Death Pose can happen anytime, anywhere. On the ottoman, the bed, the kitchen floor. Anywhere. And it never ceases to put a smile on my face and a chuckle in my throat. For me, this pose equals the epitome of feline relaxation and comfort.
I must mention, that while he certainly prefers the bed, Leo is apt to fall asleep anywhere. In a rather Seussian manner, here are several examples:
LEO CAN SLEEP...
in his kitty condo,
on a window sill,
on the computer,
in a basket,
in a box,
against the chair's arm,
against MY arm,
against my leg,
against the wall.
Yes, I must admit that I am convinced little Leo could muster up a nap just about anywhere.
When he crawled into that shoe-box-turned-drawing-box I asked him, "What are you, a cat?" He answered by promptly squeezing his head inside and napping for more than half of an hour. Ah yes, I can't wait to see what else he might be tempted to squeeze into and take a nap in the time to come.
Wow, all this talk about snoozing makes me a little tired myself. I think I'll just... maybe... lay my head down, right over here, and...
::Zzzz::
— E & L
