One of the many reasons an insomniac can — without guilt — envy a cat is the feline’s ability to flop over and nod off. In reality, an insomniac may not envy the cat's gift of sleep, but the insomniac can STUDY it and try to embrace the technique as your own. [LARRY ASIDE: Thank you for indulging my brief appeal for concern about my fellow insomniacs -- the lonely non-sleepers up all night in America trying to "find something to watch on TV."]
This photo was snapped by our Eastern Seaboard Bureau Chief Andy Fisher, the veteran print and broadcast journalist. Yes, it is an outdoor photo on the deck. The cat looks relaxed.
She is the Eastern Seaboard Bureau’s Executive Office Cat Chloe. She’s got the knack for naps, clearly.
During the recent hot-spell on Indian Lake in Denville, N.J., the residents endured nearly Texas-high temps. Andy was out on the deck with Chloe and caught her as she enjoyed a happy nap outside of the constant air-conditioning.
“Here's Chloe's contribution to the Napper file,” the Ol’ Newshound Andy wrote and then explained. “Hasn't drunk a
drop of alcohol, and is out like a light -- under the table!”
Later in the day, as the temp on the lake rose a little, Andy explained,
“Chloe would love to go out on the deck, but the rules are that at least one of us is out there with her at all times, and it looks like rain….
"Chloe was sleeping peacefully next to her favorite cardboard box when I got down on the floor to take her picture. Naturally, she woke right up and had to come over and see what I was doing, so all I would have captured were four feet.
“Chloe runs the house, no question about it. Gets me up at 5, gets Annie up at 7; as soon as I start eating my breakfast, she's all around my feet trying to get me to take her out on the deck.”
Speaking of the kitchen. Have you ever had a cat who could “make biscuits” with that naturally occurring “kneading motion” with the front paws?
That photograph with Chloe in the pan features our Eastern Seaboard Bureau Chief Executive Officer Annie Fisher checking on Chloe’s progress in the famed feline’s cable TV cooking show, “Biscuits By Chloe.” [LARRY NOTE: I might have made up that TV show — but I’m not making this up: Annie is an animal fan who also is a renowned pickleball player on the Denville-area courts.]
Annie introduced Andy to the joys of dogs and cats. And, in particular, they discovered the joy of Chloe via the local organization 9-11 Dog and Cat Rescue. That, Andy explains, is “the Morristown, N.J., shelter that took her in when she was less than two months old, called her ‘June Bug,’ but that was FAR too frivolous a name for a cat as imperious as she is.
“So we called her Chloe, the name of a fertility goddess. I can hear her scoffing now that the next thing we did to her was get her spayed.
“She's wonderful company; loves to chase and stalk the red laser dot or the sunbeams reflected off my cell phone.
“When one of us urgently whispers, ‘Chloe!’ she knows there's a squirrel or chipmunk lurking out on the deck, and she goes right into alert mode.”
The door to the deck is also handy for watching bird visitors. Through the big glass view of the world, Chloe “chirps to try to lure birds to come closer, but without much success,” Andy writes and adds, “I'm sure she's working on that.”
This, by the way, is the logo used by the folks at 911 Dog and at Rescue in The Garden State. Here’s the link to the
website where you can see the adorable adoptables. Perhaps you’ll find a soft spot in your heart for a dog or cat or a dog and cat from New Jersey. The organization is also on Facebook.
Chloe is a great example of how a little kitten can grow up to be an adored, beloved Executive Cat in the heart of lakeside journalism
and pickleball in New Jersey.
[DEAR READERS:
Send photos of your sleeping dogs and/or napping cats and other slumbering species to [email protected].
We’ll celebrate them in our long-running weekend edition, Let Sleeping Dogs Lie & Napping Cats Nap.
P.S. Thank you, Chloe, for helping us fill this space once again. You’re quite the adorable ExecuCat.]
