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Last night, for the first time in my entire life, I forgot to set our clock-radio for our workday wakeup time. Fortunately, we have a backup, an alarm cat. Every night at bedtime, all 4 cats leave the bedroom voluntarily or with assistance. The bedroom door is then closed and latched. This is because light-sleeping humans and nocturnally-active felines do not make a healthy combination. The cats then prowl the house all night, doing whatever cats do. From experience and observation, we have learned that their nightly activity includes tipping over waste baskets, shedding, filling the cat box, and walking on tables and counters that are off-limits when a human is watching. At some point, the cats meet and come to a consensus that it is time for breakfast. The Head Kitty, Miss Annabelle, then sets out to communicate this urgent, time-critical requirement to the sleeping humans. This is accomplished by hooking a paw under the bedroom door and shaking the door, by butting the door and by making many strange and loud vocalizations. This never fails to wake the humans, and today Miss Annabelle received thanks due to the forgotten clock-radio event.
Miss Annabelle making her air-raid siren sound.
The events of this morning naturally made me think of the similarities and differences of the clock-radio and Miss Annabelle. Here are the specifications for each:
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