At the beginning of last week, something finally clicked inside Thimble's head and he started letting me go back to sleep when I woke in the middle of the night. Thus it was that he was in the bedroom when I woke up in the morning.
And that's when we discovered that Apricot, Colby, and I share an approach to the morning which involves slow, careful waking up, sneaking up on the day as if it might get us if we give it half a chance. Colby, who used to be bouncy immediately in the morning, had learned that he preferred our way of waking up (Apricot and I) while Thimble was being stubborn and locked in the pink room every morning.
Thimble, on the other hand, has had metaphoric caffeine dripped into his veins and greets the day with boundless enthusiasm and much bounding, pouncing, and otherwise dreadfully energetic behavior. He was driving us all up the wall in the morning, including Colby.
Quite honestly, it takes a lot to aggravate Colby. He's a placid cat who would rather simply move aside than get into an issue about something, or go along with whatever was proposed (ie, an enthusiastic morning battle) rather than argue. So for Thimble to be annoying Colby was rather an accomplishment and also let me know I had to do something.
My poor breeder Ginger got another desperate email for help. Can I leave him in the carrier all night?
Well, of course, she said, adding that this was the preferred way of teaching a cat to sleep through the night when they weren't quite getting the concept.
So Tuesday night I set up the carrier in the pink room. Half an hour before I actually physically climb into bed, they get their food allotment for the next 24 hours. (They free-feed but they like it fresh, so they only get enough for one day. If there's food left the next night, I cut back a little; if the bowls are scoured clean, I add more.) At that point I put a little food and a little water in the food/water container that slides into the carrier door, and shut the door to the carrier.
Thimble seemed a little upset with this and repeatedly beat on the top of the door, trying to get into it!
Right before I climb into bed, I give everybody goodnight kisses. This entails kisses on the head for Colby and Apricot and hugs for Thimble, who doesn't like kisses on the head and so I'm trying to accommodate him (since I don't want to be washed by him and that's as instinctive for him to do as it is for me to head-kiss-bump cats). I gave him his goodnight hug last of the three cats, scooped him up, and carried him to the carrier where I put him inside and then shut the door to the room.
I got him out the next morning. He came out just fine, no complaining, no rushing. He stretched and yawned and headed for the bathroom to pee, and then came back for some hugs. I wanted him to know that this wasn't punishment for anything, just ... his own bedroom.
The next night, when I went to hug him goodnight, he walked away before I could reach him and led me into the pink room, where he paused while I opened the carrier door (having pre-loaded the food and water as before) and then he walked in of his own accord.
Since then, he's wanted "a ride" back to the pink room, but this isn't because he doesn't want to go there. It's because he likes to take advantage of any situation where he can leap onto my shoulder by invitation and get a ride to the other end of the house! He goes in the carrier by himself once I open the door for him, and tucks his own tail in so I don't shut the door on it--not that I would, of course.
I think that he likes the enforced quiet time. I think that it's a little tiring to be watching out for everybody all the time, and since that's a self-appointed task for him, it's difficult-to-impossible for him to let it go by himself. But once in the carrier he can't look out for everybody else's welfare, so he gets a break. Plus, I also think he's like the little kids who, while yawning and stumbling over their own feet, insist that they aren't tired and don't want to go to bed. Get them in a bed and have them close their eyes for a minute, and off they go to slumberland.
So he's fine with the situation.
As for the rest of us? That first morning, both Colby and Apricot came to me (separately) while I was in-bed-waking-up and expressed what I can only term as "thank you" to me. Colby has been most cuddly during this morning time for the past week, and Apricot occasionally makes an appearance to say hello and then disappears again. (He does not stay on the bed unless I'm not in it, due to an unfortunate situation where he tried to sleep on the bed with me when he first was getting used to being with me in the house, and I accidentally kicked him out of bed in my sleep.)
I guess for the foreseeable future, this is how it's going to be. Probably until Thimble shows signs of calming down ... which may be awhile.
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