Smaland

My Grandmum used to have a cat. He was a big male with one blue and one green eye, and completely white. Unlike most white cats he wasn't deaf. He was called Smaland.

Smaland was clever. He slept in my Grandmums bed, but when he wanted to go out for a pee in the morning, he knew there was no chance in waking her up, so he went to my Grandad. This was the time when my grandparents were old and had chosen to have separate bedrooms. So Smaland went to wake my Grandad up, to tell him he wanted to go out.

My Grandad was a kind person. Every morning about five or six he went up to let Smaland out. Mind you, a man that age probably had to get up anyway, but still.

But what I was thinking about were my cats. My Granny claimed that Smaland couldn't go to sleep without her sticking her head in her bedroom saying "nighty-nighty". So even if he was already stretched out on her bed, he wouldn't sleep until she had told him it was all right.

And me not being superstitious I cannot help but thinking about it every time I go to bed. Only my kittens seem to be ahead of me. By the time I have shut down the computer, closed the doors, brushed my teeth and gone to bed, they are already preparing to sleep in their usual places.

Nevertheless, I still say "nighty-nighty" to them.