cat attack

My cat, who can be seen by following the link above, insists on commandeering my abdomen anytime I am sleeping, trying to sleep in or nap. Not my husband's, mine. I'm not quite sure why. She rarely sits on laps and she doesn't particularily like to be picked up. However, the stomach-stealing form of human contact seems to be, not only acceptable, but desirable to the point of becoming damned annoying.

At night, she'll stay perched over my belly button for ten to fifteen minutes before going to settle in at the end of the bed. Okay, I can handle that. But often she'll come back later in the night, or in the morning as I'm trying to get up, and settle in for the long haul. I'm sure she'd stay there hours on end, if I let her. She refuses to repond to the subtleties of prodding her back, shifting the covers, tapping her head or the lure of toys and freedom can only be gained by forcibe removal. As a result, I am glared at and muttered at for a length of time (I've never stuck around long enough to hear the whole complaint).

Maybe this is a cat "thing". She is the first cat I've ever had and has surprised me with several previously unknown cat "things". Perhaps, like those, she is simply enlightening me to the ways of being owned by a cat. I could certainly see her stoically taking on this belly battle just to prove a point. If so, I suppose she is being kind - a sort martyr for cats everywhere, while breaking in one more human to create an appropriate cat companion.

She still seems to get the better deal out of it.