Cletus & Tigger Spooning – Photo: L. Weikel
Spooning
Spooning, cuddling, call it what you will. I venture a guess there are only a few people out there who don’t find immense comfort in the ritual of holding or being held. Or, as in our case, switching off in the middle of the night by mumbling a barely recognizable, “Hold or be held?” and then adjusting ourselves according to the wishes of the one being asked.
At least we take turns giving each other priority preference.
But the pleasures of spooning do not end with homo sapiens in our house. No sir. As can be seen from my photo, above, even two of our three cats were recently caught spooning with each other.
Cletus and Tigger
A few weeks ago I managed to take this photo of Cletus and Spartacus sleeping sort of adjacent to each other (more sharing a pillow than cuddling – with Tigger hanging out on the periphery). Precious, of course, was nowhere to be seen. She tends to sleep by her self, often choosing to perch on the back of a couch and snoring so loudly you’d swear it was another human.
Cletus, Spartacus, Tigger – Photo: L. Weikel
While the animals definitely have affection for each other that genuinely seems to be more than mere tolerance, it is nevertheless rare to have two male cats (albeit neutered) who are completely unrelated to each other actually cuddle up.
But then you give the whole scenario some perspective and you realize just how potentially stereotype-shattering this whole ‘spooning’ exercise really is in our household.
Perspective
Ah yes, there it is again: perspective. It really is fascinating just how much of a role our perspective plays on everything we perceive. Our perspective – or the overall context in which we perceive creatures or anything, shapes and colors our entire experience.
It was with this truth in mind that I pulled back from my closeup of Cletus and Tigger spooning in order to give a wider view of the potential sleeping arrangements available to our pets.
Many rooms at the Inn – Photo: L. Weikel
Clearly, there was a deliberate choice to share a deluxe pillow together, as there were a plethora of beds available for them to sleep independently.
I’m left to wonder, in all honestly, just how much comfort and reassurance our cats require in these strange times. How similar are they to us when it comes right down to it?
No matter how you look at it, it’s pretty adorable.
(T-264)