Thursday, January 3, 2008

Playing Dirty

Our cats attempt to wake us up for breakfast every morning, beginning at least an hour before the alarm goes off. usually, we can fend them off without really waking up. Until now, even Carmen, the fiercest of Nudgers, has found no way to combat the mighty I-Hug-You-So-You-Can't-Wake-Me hold.
But, alas, our ladies are all growing up, and this morning Carmen managed to perfect the new power smash she's been working on recently; her oh-so-effective, you-didn't-even-stand-a-chance, can't-hold-me-if-i'm-out-of-reach tactic: Waking the Baby.
Now, she doesn't even need to run the risk of getting hugged; she's figured out that if she wakes the baby up, the baby will wake me up, and that means BREAKFAST!!
This morning, after about a half hour of our usual "it isn't time to eat yet" routine, I noticed that something was amiss. Why hadn't the cat come in for her 42nd nudge? I opened one eye just enough to witness the beginning of the end. Carmen, daintily, stepping up to Cadence and giving her several full on "I LOOOOOOVE you!!!!!!!" nudges, until Cadence was sufficiently attentive, then flopping down next to her, purring loudly and resting her tail and one paw on Cadence, and actually allowing her to grab and pet and play with them. Sure enough, in mere minutes I heard the shrieks of glee and telltale giggles that said "Mommy, look! I've got a Kitty! Wake up and play with us!" Carmen looked at me with a decidedly smug grin as I sat up and groggily rubbed my eyes, and I swear she started purring louder as James declared that she was playing dirty, then asked me to hit snooze on his alarm as soon as it went off and sleepily rolled over.