Scratcher of heads, rubber of bellies
Boo keeping me company in the bedroom in July of 2021 when I was quarantined courtesy of the pandemic. He’s been glommed all over me this winter and is curled up on my legs at the moment but I suspect he’ll not be quite so attached as the warmer weather returns.
One night in July I woke to my teeth chattering so badly I had to clench my jaw to get them to stop, not exactly normal for the middle of the Arizona summer. The thermometer confirmed a low grade fever and the rapid test confirmed Covid, which I later discovered was quietly sweeping through the plant. I quarantined in the bedroom, at first we kept the pets out but after talking with the vet we allowed them in when I was feeling better. Boo even slept on my chest at one point, something he hasn’t done since he was a kitten, he usually prefers curling up beside me.
In the early days Boo and Trixie occasionally complained outside the door about not being let in, with paws swiping under the door to try to catch my attention, but if Sam was still with us we would have had to let them in and just brought in litter boxes and food. He would have curled up on my chest and been annoyed if I coughed too much, but not so much as to actually get up. I would have been serenaded to sleep by the purrs of a cat who was happy so long as we were together.
Boo in my second favorite of his sleeping positions, the one I call The Full Louganis as his perfect tuck reminds me of Olympic divers. Despite appearances he does have arms, but our boneless Boo doesn’t always follow the laws of physics. I’m about 90% convinced he’s from this universe and about 70% convinced he’s from this planet.
Sam sleeping on our bed late on a winter morning. When I get home from work he’s usually either sleeping here with brother Boo or sitting on my footstool, waiting for me to come home. As soon as I sit down he jumps up for a snuggle, he may have the expected muscle loss for a cat his age but he is as sweet as ever.
One night in 2011 when I went to bed I set my camera on the nightstand so the following morning I could take this visual reminder of how I always woke, with Sam curled up on my legs. Nine years hence, it’s how I woke this morning.
Emma and Sam in the guest room of our house in Portland on a sunny fall afternoon in the fall of 2013.
In this edition, under the bed in the guest room of our rental house here in Arizona.
Our resident philosopher enjoys exploring new places to sleep or observe more than any of our other cats.
As 2018 rings in, a picture from New Year’s Day a decade ago, about a week after we adopted Sam and Emma. Sam was allowed limited exposure to the house at large, which meant he also got to meet our oldest Scout face-to-face instead of under the door. She quickly became his hero. Today the roles have changed, he is our oldest and it is little Trixie who worships him. They are both curled up on my lap, but with fireworks in the distance he is too restless to sleep.
Boolie 