Bang, clatter, CRASH!

[fjm]

At 2am I woke up needing to go to the loo, woke Poppy-dog to persuade her to go out (she is on steroids and prone to mild incontinence in her sleep if she doesn't empty her bladder regularly), went downstairs, let her out, waited for her to come back in, and followed her back to bed. Dogs and I settled down and snoozed off.

Then it started: thump. Thump, thump. THUMP! Skitter, skitter, THUMP!
"Settle down, cats!"
Snooze
Jolted awake by a violent Crash! as a bowl flies off the chest of drawers and onto the floor.
"Settle DOWN, cats!!"
Sudden silence from the cats, grumbles from me and the dogs.
Snooze
Thump, bang, squawk. Grumbles from Sophy-dog who doesn't approve of squabbling.
Nearly snooze.
More banging and squawking.
Sophy starts barking.
I climb out of bed over the dogs, read the riot act, and order the cats downstairs.
Snooze.
Scrabbling and heaving as Pippin-cat hauls himself up onto the bed and tramples over both dogs looking for a comfy spot. Loud complaints from dogs. Pip settles down in the middle of the bed and starts vigorously kneading.
Pip dissuaded from kneading, and from sitting on top of Sophy.
Pip wants to sit on top of me instead, choosing my dodgy knee for preference. We eventually all find reasonable comfortable spaces, although I seem to be left with about 12 inches of mattress next to the wall and not quite enough duvet.
Snooze.
Long before I am ready to wake up the faint light outside tells the animals it is breakfast time. The penetrating stare of four pairs of eyes breaks through my dreams and makes it impossible to sleep any longer...

Oh how I wish it would stop raining, so the cats could prowl outside instead!

[Mollycat]

Oh how I miss those days, of two cats thundering around the flat in and out of the bedroom and stopping to moan a complaint or yowl an invitation. The days of waking up to cat toys on the bed and a beach of litter all over the bathroom floor. Suddenly realising there is a cat asleep on my lap and I've forgotten how it got there. Watching as one lies in wait behind a chair stalking the other one coming into the room, or lies in the bath with ears flattened to hide for a pounce. And the first Christmas as a multi-cat household, not expecting the tree to survive and then the disappointment that they didn't touch it, even with the provocation of catnip toys in the lower branches.

[Ruth B]

Mine are being kept in during the day while the plumbers are here redoing the bathroom, and they are not happy about it. They do sleep most of the time but when they are let out then they are wide awake and ready to get up to whatever mischief they can.

I am also convinced that the juniors have a shape changing ability, the number of times when i am sat in the lounge and they decide to chase each other around I am sure they turn into a pair of a baby elephants half way up the stairs. How can two fairly small cats make so much noise.

[fjm]

I am still trying to work out what was making the bangs - I couldn't find anything to account for the noises this morning. And now, of course, they are both fast asleep like little cat-angels...

Baby elephants indeed - I remember how a litter of Siamese kittens could turn from silent wisps of thistledown into a whole herd of elephants when playing chase up the stairs and along the landing!

[Mollycat]

Heffalumps. Heffalumps and Woozles.