Sleeping With Cats

The temperature is starting to dip in the 'burg. The last few nights it actually got down into the 30s and 40s. To borrow a phrase from the Inuits, "It was a three cat night." Actually they would say three dog night since that's how they keep warm up there on the ice, by sleeping with their dogs. And you thought that was just a 60's-70's rock band.

I should confess right now, I just fibbed up there a sentence or two ago. Last night was easily a seven cat night. I just didn't want to seem all whine-y and princess-y. God knows South Mississippi is not exactly the Arctic Circle. Cold here is a relative -- and fleeting -- term. And my cats are not as big as those sled dogs -- although they probably eat as much judging from my last Pet Smart receipt.

Bottom line: When it does get cold in Hattiesburg, it is especially cold in my house. It's one of those charming raised cottages with the original windows -- and drafty as all get out. You don't want to know what my gas bill is. I wish I didn't.

While I'm watching my hard-earned dollars slip through the cracks in my woefully inadequate insulation, it's nice, especially, in this economy, to have my fur babies snuggled all around me. Even if they do hog the bed and cause me to sleep in weirdly contorted positions.

There are perks to being a cat mama.