Monday, March 22, 2010

Might have an old bike helmet around here somewhere ...

What were you doing at about 5:00am this morning? I hope you were sleeping peacefully as we all should be at that time of the day. But apparently one of my cats had other ideas.

Waking up because a cat has had a freak-out when it saw something outside and decided to do a flash dance on your head before launching off in a different direction is not the way I would prefer to end my slumber.


My reaction was immediate - I cringed and pulled my arm up
above my head in case said kitty was not done. For a moment I considered dropping right back to sleep but decided to reach up and touch my head while mumbling something derogatory about the parentage of the doggone cat. My hand came away wet. Very wet. Disorienting!

By the time I got to the bathroom I saw blood splash onto the bathroom floor, it was down my arm and coming down the side of my face. OMG the cat has killed me! Okay, I didn't really have that thought, but I should have given the amount of blood dripping from my head.

I clapped my han
d over my scalp and began the business of stopping the bleeding by applying pressure with wet paper towels. For OVER A HALF HOUR. I wasn't too freaked out because everybody knows that scalp wounds bleed a lot. But I WAS considering the logistics of driving myself to the hospital if I managed to pull some pants on and some sort of slip-on footwear, driving with one hand while holding bloody paper towels to my head with the other hand. I figured I would look like a crazy woman.

So once the b
leeding finally stopped I did what anyone else with my temperament would do, I tried to go back to sleep. Didn't work but I did try.

Couldn't really wash my hair because I could not see what my scalp looked like and I was afraid I would make it bleed again, so I took a lukewarm shower and rinsed the blood out but that was it. When I got to work I asked Ysabel, who I still share a brain with even though we don't work in the same area anymore, to come look at my head so I knew what the damage was. I was picturing slashes, maybe a nice flap of skin barely adhered to my scalp - no. Not anything nearly so dire. Two punctures. Two holes in my head and a big red spot or abrasion. No stitches needed, no having to report my cat to the authorities lest she dance on someone else's head and be considered a menace. Two punctures.

Only a small amount of blood ended up on the shirt I was sleeping in, nothing on my pillow or carpet, although I did have to clean up the floor and the sink and vanity in the bathroom. Yes, this is the kind of
thing I sleep in. I only show you to make you feel better about your own sleep attire.

I know you want to know which cat it was and I can tell you in all honesty - I'm not sure. I suspect it was Abby (the evil one) because she is the night prowler who always knows when something is outside to get freaked out about. And being the crazy cat lady I am - I can't blame her. She didn't do it on purpose.

But I might start sleeping in some kind of helmet.

*

14 comments:

  1. OMG!! Our kitty does stuff like that, but it's on purpose. Your poor noggin.

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  2. Poor you! My tabby likes to lick my hair in the middle of the night and purr really really loudly.

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  3. Mahala you even crack me up on MY blog! Lol!

    Teena - lick your hair? Purr really loudly? Sounds much better to me than what I got. Where do I sign up?

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  4. THAT cat? That sweet little cat?

    This is maybe the most unpleasant way to wake up that I can imagine. Your poor head.

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  5. And I've been complaining about the way Burnie wakes me up. He only combs my hair with his claws, he has never drawn blood. Of course that little cat didn't mean it.

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  6. That can't be a good wake up. All I have are dogs that bark and whine, which is annoying but at least they don't draw blood.

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  7. Ouch!!

    Mabel wakes me up early most mornings but not in such a painful or shocking way!

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  8. I'm glad it wasn't anything too serious or obvious. A colleague had his cat leap up to a window using his face as a springboard. He endured lots of teasing as it looked like his wife swiped him with her nails!!

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  9. I was an extremely nasty way to wake up, especially since I didn't have to be up for hours yet! And to be honest, after all that blood - I was disappointed with the lack of actual wounds beyond 2 punctures.

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  10. ...do a flash dance on your head...

    Oh. my. gawd. The imagery. I feel bad for you, I really do... but can't stop laughing. That line is too funny.

    PS I sleep in the same kind of thing. Are you picking on my attire?

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  11. It is so dis-orienting to be woken up by one of your pets. especially if said pet has pounced on your head.

    I hope you are healing well.

    Have a good weekend.

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  12. Holy Crow! That did bleed alot - even for a scalp - wowsa! Are you taking anything that might be blood thinning (aspirin)? Might explain why there was so much FOR SO LONG! Not a great way to start a day....had to be caused by EVIL!!!
    Hope your next sleep was more restful....Meow!!

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  13. What an exciting life you lead Bettejo, even when you're sleeping! This had me in stitches all the way through. x

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  14. This reminds of when Bastian, my husband's cat jumped off our headboard and landed on my face. I had scratches all over and he came really close to my eye. What amused me (once I got over being pissed off at him( yeah he probably did it on purpose not realizing the damage)) is how sorry the cat was. This cat doesn't cuddle but he slept on top of me for a week waking me up every couple hours as he checked on the scratches.

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