So part of Sweetie’s decline has resulted in frequent requests to go outside during the night. She’s on anti-inflammatory medicines and antibiotics right now and she slept for a really long stretch last night (like FOUR WHOLE HOURS) but the bad nights she was wanting to go out every 30-45 minutes. I slept on the couch (which I actually really like, our couch is comfy, Donnie thinks it’s terrible) so I could just be right there, maximizing my sleep. After the third bad night my decision making ability completely shut down.
At some point during the third bad night my sleepy brain thought, This is dumb. I’m just going to leave the sliding glass door open so she can come and go as she pleases. Yeah, sure, we might get a few bugs but it’s worth it so I can get some sleep.
No part of my sleepy brain remembered I had a cat.
Some time later – I have no idea how long – my brain woke up a bit and I shout up on that couch and thought, OH SHIT. I HAVE A CAT.
I ran to the sliding glass door and looked in the dark and THANK GOD I saw a fluffy tail walking in the light of the moon. I grabbed that tail (no part of my sleep brain thought Hope that’s my cat and not a skunk) and yanked it inside the house as my startled senior cat screamed in shock.
MY CAT ALMOST ESCAPED BECAUSE MY SLEEPY BRAIN IS AN IDIOT.
Donnie has took the “early shifts” so I could go to bed at 8pm (which is actually much earlier than usual for me now) and try to catch up on sleep until he gets in bed at 11pm. That gave me a solid 3 hours to start each night which helped with the TERRIBLE DECISION MAKING. And then it seems the medicines started making Sweetie feel better because last night she sleep until 1:45am. From that point it was up every 30 minutes, but at least I slept from about 9pm to 1:45am PERFECTLY.
I can’t believe my 18-year old cat who sleeps 23 out of 24 hours a day almost made it out into the great wide open due to her Mom’s inability to process logical thought in the middle of the night.
Don’t beat yourself up, everything was ok. Cats have done sort of inbuilt sensor even in their deepest sleep that tells them a door or window is open. Do you have cougars or some animal which would steal the cat away ?
I have totally had that OH SHIT THE CAT IS OUTSIIIIIIIDE moment.
I totally cracked up at: “I saw a fluffy tail walking in the light of the moon. I grabbed that tail (no part of my sleep brain thought Hope that’s my cat and not a skunk) and yanked it inside the house as my startled senior cat screamed in shock” because I could totally see myself doing the same thing!