Furry alarm clocks

Yes, I am referring to cats.

I mean, it’s dark when the alarm clock goes off, and I am not a natural morning person.  I’m keeping the alarm set because if I revert to my preferred natural schedule of being up until about 2 am and then sleeping until 10 am, I’m going to have an awful time when I go back to school.  Plus, Loki and Sean both need meds on a fairly regular basis, and since there’s no alarm clock created that can wake Sean up (okay, be fair, he’s on heavy pain meds and has sleep apnea for which he uses a CPAP machine), it’s kind of up to me.

I can live with Loki headbonking me to encourage me to wake up.  I can even live with Angel washing my face, although I’m not sure if that’s a good-morning gesture or an attempt to get my attention.

The last few days, the two of them have started tag-teaming me when the alarm first goes off.  Angel heads for my pillow, drapes herself around the top of my head, and… well, have you ever seen a cat get a tangle out of her fur?  Bite into it and yank?  She lick-licks my forehead a couple of times, then grabs a mouthful of my (waist-length) hair and yanks.  And repeats at will.

While this occurs, Loki is doing his part.  I generally sleep on my side, one hand under my head.  Loki, yelling, hooks a paw over my forearm and pulls as hard as he can.  Usually after two or three repetitions, he can pull my arm right out from under my head.  This is interspersed with very strong headbonks to the stomach and chest, and a whole lot of vocalization.  I guess I should be grateful that he doesn’t use his claws.  *sigh*

And through all of this, Trick lounges in the hall, patiently, knowing that breakfast will be along shortly.

What a way to start a day.