Tag: sleeping

Keeping an Eye on Me

Our cat Boo watches me with one eye open while sleeping on my couch in October 2019

Boo may have hissed at Sam when we brought him home after his surgery but he was the opposite for me after getting a wisdom tooth removed. They put me under for the oral surgery so I was pretty out of it for a while and slept when I came home, bleeding a little onto the pillow. Perhaps between the smell of blood and seeing me so woozy it alarmed the little fellow, given how upset he got when Ellie died this spring, as he was glued to me for the first few days. At first he insisted on snuggling up tight between me and the arm of the couch, or if he needed more space on the floor near my head, until eventually he relaxed and moved further down the couch. He’s a sensitive sweetheart, our Boo.

Is There No Middle Ground?

Our cat Trixie buries her head in our cat Sam's belly as he sleeps on my legs, taken as Sam recovered from surgery in October 2019

When Sam came home after his surgery the other cats weren’t quite sure what to make of him, Boo would hiss at him and Trixie mostly avoided him. We saw this years ago after Templeton’s surgery when Scout hissed at him at first, I’m guessing it’s the different smell when they first come home. Once his wound healed enough that we could take off his onesie and he could give himself a bath, Trixie recognized her hero once more and buried her head in his belly as he slept on my legs. He gave me a look and I was poised to move her lest she bump his sore mouth or shoulder but she instantly fell asleep. He decided to tolerate her affections despite not feeling well, curling up around her and joining her in slumber.

Good News for Samwise

Our cat Sam sleeps lengthwise down my legs, his head towards my feet, while wearing a baby's onesie after shoulder surgery, taken in October 2019

The vet reported that the cyst that suddenly appeared in Sam’s shoulder was a reaction to his steroid injection so while it will change the way he gets his shots in the future there’s no other underlying issue we need to worry about. He’s healing well from the shoulder surgery and will get the stitches out soon. He’s also healing well from his dental surgery and will be able to enjoy evening treats again, as will the other cats as I’ve put them all on hiatus until Sam can join us once more. Here as he sleeps on my legs he was still wearing his onesie in the early days after surgery but he hasn’t had to wear it for a while now.

Sam Gives Us a Scare

Our cat Sam sleeps in the sunbeams on the carpet in our rental house in November 2018

Sam was throwing up on occasion, not all the time but more than you’d expect if he was trying to work up a hairball (sometimes it takes him a while), so we took him into the vet. While it seemed treatable with steroids, and they also discovered he had broken a tooth that will need to come out, more seriously they discovered his heart was skipping beats that put the other treatments on hold. He went in for heart tests but thankfully those turned out well so he went in yesterday for a steroid shot and will get his tooth out next. We’ll keep an eye on the heart to see if the missed beats continue or if it was an aberration due to stress.

Mellow, Yellow

An overhead view of a master blister beetle sleeping on a heavily-chewed brittlesbush blossom on the Marcus Landslide Trail in McDowell Sonoran Preserve in Scottsale, Arizona in May 2019

A sleepy master blister beetle isn’t quite ready to shake off its slumber and rise to meet the world. From the heavily chewed flower petals you can see why the brittlebush is both bedroom and dining room for the lovely little ones, at least on the one and only time I saw them this spring.

Not a Fan of Monsoons

Our tortoiseshell cat Trixie sleeps on the cat tree at our rental house in Scottsdale, Arizona in December 2018

Like all the cats, Trixie spent most of her life in the Northwest so the thunder and lightning of monsoon season are a new and unpleasant experience for her. We haven’t had many storms this summer but a mild one the other day really scared her for some reason. She hid in Boo’s favorite spot in one of the bathroom cabinets and wouldn’t come out for her dinner, we let her be and a while later I coaxed her out to eat. She ate about half and then slunk off, keeping as close to the floor as possible. I later found her in my bathroom closet, she had pulled out several of my heavy sweatshirts and made a nest. She looked so comfy had I been Trixie-sized I might have joined her. I gave her extra attention when she finally emerged and by morning she was back to normal.

Beauty in the Shadows

A male desert spiny lizard close his eyes as he rests beneath massive boulders at Cathedral Rock in McDowell Sonoran Preserve in Scottsdale, Arizona in July 2018

Cathedral Rock is awash in beauty, with massive boulders and sweeping views of the Sonoran desert, but its greatest beauty sleeps in its shadows, hidden in crevices below the monoliths. Despite its size, the desert spiny lizard is rather shy and often scurries out of sight long before I approach. Thankfully I was not only able to spend some time with this one and watch as he grew sleepy, but ease away and leave him to his slumber.