Santiago thinks that because I just got up it is time to run around the house. Which would be fine--he's a little cat and doesn't generally knock things over and stuff--except that he expects me to chase him. Unfortunately not only is it the middle of the night but I have two long papers to edit by morning so it is not really possible for me to entertain him right now. I did go so far as to follow him to the kitchen to see if he wanted to be harassed or wanted catnip and he walked over to his little catnip plate so I gave him a bit. Usually that gets about two laps around the house out of him before it sends him into a nap.

Ah. I can hear him answering the call of the wild! Soon he'll be snoozing.

He gets up when I get up, goes to sleep when I go to sleep, and probably will come and nap on my feet here in a little bit. He's kind of like a dog; I don't think I have ever had a cat who so regularly followed me to bed. If I am sleeping in my chair, he comes and jumps on my lap as soon as my feet are on the shelves that function as my footrest. If I climb up to sleep on my loft, he will be beside me within five minutes if not within 30 seconds. He follows me into the bathroom too--both cats do that, in fact. I always have company in there. Fortunately I feel no shame in front of my cats.

Have I mentioned how much I love them? Jackson doesn't get much press but he's always nearby and always ready to lick my head if something goes wrong. We have a lot in common: social phobia, love of sleep, the feeling that the only safe place in the world is my room and that the safest place in here is in bed.

Cats. :)