As someone who doesn’t work in an office, I find myself needing many naps to get through the day, probably just as many naps as the kitties. I don’t see this as something to be ashamed of, nor do I think it makes me a useless person; it’s just how my life is. I’ve made my peace with it and allow snoozing to take up a large chunk of my time.

Every afternoon, I grow drowsy soon after lunch. I didn’t use to nap, but these days I drop off each afternoon right on schedule. A person’s biological clock influences them much more than any timetable devised by humans. As soon as I lie down on the sofa and grow still, the kitties know it’s time to come over and prepare for bed. Their naps last much longer than mine—they generally don’t wake up till sunset, whereas I rarely sleep much more than an hour. After this time, a pair of tweezers extends from my biological clock—like something in a cartoon—and tugs my eyelids open, at which point I have no choice but to be awake.

When I open my eyes each day, I find myself with a Cat-pillow and Kitten-blanket. They’ll remain completely stationary, so immobile you might mistake them for stuffed animals. For a moment, I’ll mistake them for an actual pillow and blanket.

Cat is plump and solidly built, particularly around the belly, which has just the right combination of softness and bounce—he’s very comfortable to lie against. As for Kitten, her long fur is so luxuriant she feels like the softest of silken quilts, able to keep away any hint of cold. Whenever they’re pressed against a human, they’ll purr rhythmically, hypnotically. With one of them by my ear and the other on my chest, they add drowsiness to my drowsiness.

This pillow and blanket set don’t need cleaning. Bedlinen is never quite the same after laundering, and cotton in particular wears out with each wash, needing to be replaced after just a few years. By contrast, Cat and Kitten can be used again and again, and they’ll remain just as soft and warm as ever, better than new. If they happen to get grubby, they know how to lick themselves clean. They shed fur, but new fur grows back in. All of this is determined by their moods though. Whenever they don’t feel like being a pillow and blanket, I don’t dare force them. If I annoy them, they’ll turn into a saw blade and nails instead, hammering away at my body, and it’s not unusual for me to come away battered and covered in wounds.