Hair Balls at Dawn

At about 5:40 this morning, I awoke to the sound of a cat preparing to vomit. It's a distinctive sound, one that strikes fear in the heart of many a cat owner. But in this case, the cat in question was just a few inches from my head. She's taken to sleeping on one of the memory foam pillows on the bed, and since I'm not really in charge, I let her. I feel terrible about this, but when I heard The Sound, I scootched her off the bed, mid-vomit-prep. Which can't have been fun for her, but I figure she was throwing up one way or another and it wouldn't do her a bit of good if I also had to wrestle the duvet cover off and do an impromptu load of laundry.

Aside:
For some reason, the prospect of laundering the bedding will cause me act irrationally. Or, well, irrationally to some. I think it's just good thinking. For instance, years ago, when my little dog got to his feet in the middle of the night, stepped over my body, and started with the walk and noise that heralded vomiting, and I had just that day done the sheets and blankets, well, I tell you, I "caught" it in my own hands rather than have to do that all again. And there are those times - plenty of them - when the pet in question gives you no warning whatsoever. So, I do what I can. And this time, I scootched her off. But I digress.

Yard Kitty commenced yakking. Both the little girl cats do a three-part yak, so I was not surprised when that's just what she did. Dozing a little longer, I was surprised awake by a rare-but-not-unheard-of fourth yak. This, along with the time elapsed since her last meal, led me to believe that she was working a hair ball, and I hoped, as I drifted off once more, that that would be the end of that.

Reader, I cannot find the fourth yak. I can't say I've looked everywhere, but I have given the house a good going over, and it remains a mystery. I am trying to believe I just imagined the extra bout, but I'm not typically that lucky and have no reason to believe the winds have changed on that.

So. There you go.

Treading carefully,

Jenny