Sunday, March 15, 2009

Alarm cat

At 5 am precisely, the cat was scratching my bed. I wasn't sure whether he was hungry, or wanted out, so I took some food outside for him (a tactic developed when he was a visitor, and I wanted him to go out). So where has he acquired this sense of time? The only explanation that I can think of is that he hasn't been sleeping rough, but has been spending the night with someone who routinely gets up at 5 in the morning.

To begin with, when he started visiting us, we would make a point of encouraging him to go out in the middle of the evening, with time, as we thought, to find his way home for the night. But frequently, he would be on our window sill so early in the morning that we arrived at the conclusion that he had simply spent the night prowling.

So I wonder if some kind person was giving him shelter. There's been no indication around the town that anybody has lost a cat. I think that he's happy with us. And I'm hoping that when the clocks go forward, I'll reclaim an hour's sleep (or have I got the arithmetic wrong?) ...

1 comment:

Karin said...

My in-laws' tom cat used to wake them up at 5 am. I think that's just when cats want their breakfast, except perhaps in Winter.

Our female cat was more considerate, or quieter.