Peaceful Sleeping Kitties (??)

I came downstairs today for my morning coffee and t.v. news in the den. Coming around the corner from the kitchen, coffee cup in hand, I stopped abruptly.

What?? Two cats sleeping close to each other on the couch??

This doesn't happen in my house. It used to with our cats, Snuggy (short for Snugball) and Eekie (short for Eclipse.) They were litter mates, which I understand is about the only way cats will snuggle together in sleep. Quite the peaceful scene for two cats who barely tolerate each other on a GOOD day.

I quickly grabbed the camera to document this historic moment. Then I sat down for my coffee...

And I got to thinking...

This fluffy hand-knitted blanket is Miss Ellie's domain. She LOVES sleeping here! But Hamilton is on the blanket. Aha! They must have had a contest of wills during the night. And Miss Ellie lost. Yeah. That's the real story.

Now, to even out this battle, I have to say, Hamilton will let Miss Ellie have first dibs on the food bowl, just about every time. But if he gets in his mind that Miss Ellie has a favorite spot, he had been known to ace her out.

Case in point: Hamilton climbed onto Warren's lap this afternoon and had a nice long nap. Miss Ellie isn't much of a lap cat, so he can get away with this quite easily. But Miss Ellie doesn't like it and in the last couple years has even climbed into Warren's lap every once in a while. A real change in her behavior. One which Warren appreciates.

So...I wouldn't say this photo shows peaceful sleeping kitties. I would say it shows Miss Ellie resigned to her fate. And thinking about how to get her blanket back. Notice who is wide awake and eyeing me disdainfully...