My wife and I suffer from a terrible condition. At any given moment we will find ourselves incapacitated, unable to move, unable to perform or complete the most basic of tasks because we no longer have control of our bodies. The cause of this condition is not a disease or a mental illness… but our elderly cat, Scamp.
In our house we call it “getting Scamp’d.”
If you’re a cat owner you know where this is going, but for those of you who aren’t cat owners, it’s a very simple process: Scamp will climb into our lap or snuggle up against us, and we find ourselves unable to move because we don’t have the heart to disturb the old man.
Getting Scamp’d has caused delays in productivity and putting our son to bed, and has most dangerously caused us to fall asleep (or back to sleep) when we need to be awake. The latter example happened to me very recently, as it was remote game night with my friends but Scamp curled up with me on the sofa and knocked me right out. I woke up to discover I’d slept through the conclusion of game night.
You might ask me, “Why don’t you just move him?” And I would reply, “That’s impossible.”
Despite it being awfully cute, it’s important to treasure the time you have with your pets. Scamp is fifteen years old. In September of last year he became very, very sick and didn’t eat or drink for five days. We thought it was time to say goodbye to our furry old pal, but miraculously he made a full recovery. More than ever before, we realize that every moment with Scamp is precious and needs to be treasured, even if it inconveniences us in the moment.
Am I embarrassed that I fell asleep on game night? A little. Am I grateful that it was because of Scamp wanting to snuggle? Absolutely. Will it happen again? I hope so.
If you or a loved one suffers from a condition similar to Getting Scamp’d, do not seek treatment. Let it happen and appreciate every inconvenient moment.