Division of Labor

First off, I managed to make it into the office today.  Before you guys bite my head off, here's my reasoning:

1.  I knew it would be a slow, paperwork-catch-up kind of day.   Nothing too taxing.

2.  The weather is cold and rainy.  If it was hot and sunny, you'd better believe I'd be home.  Or rather, out in the backyard, snoozing on a lawn chair.

3.  Hell, I feel like sh*t.  I might as well get PAID while I'm feeling like sh*t.  Why feel like sh*t for free?


Okay, so.  Here I am at the office.  Doin' my job.  And I got to thinking about how the cats have divided up the labor around the house while I've been sick.

Tinks has taken over bed-companion duties.  Whenever I've decided that I've been upright long enough and crawl into bed for a few hours, a few minutes after I hit the sheets, I hear the "thunk" of Tinks hitting the side of the bed as he attempts to jump up on top.  "Try again, honey," I murmur, and then I feel the thud of him landing next to me.  (No, he doesn't need "pet steps".  He just needs to learn how to judge his jumps better.)  Then he circles around a couple of times, finally coming to rest with his butt directly in my face, naturally.  I gently prod him until he finds a better resting spot, i.e., one that doesn't involve his butt and my face, and we both drift off.  When I wake up, inevitably he is sleeping on his back with his paws waving lazily in the air, and I'm sorry, if there's anything cuter than that, I do not know what it is.

Soda has taken over recliner chores.  Whenever I'm ensconced in the recliner, Soda curls right up in the crook of my arm.  I'm sure he's just trying to suck the heat out of my body, but it is comforting.  And every once in a while, he'll jump down and race a few turns around the living room, just to crack me up.  Oh!  And he is maintaining his status quo as hunter-in-chief; he brought a mouse in just this morning.  Although judging by the number of leaves attached to said mouse, it had been dead for quite a while, but hey!  It's the thought that counts.

Pony is my cat-in-waiting.  When I am sleeping in the bedroom, he snoozes in his pet bed at the foot of my bed.  When I'm sleeping in the living room, he lies on the floor next to my chair.  Any time I move around, he's shadowing me, making sure I don't ... I don't know, wander away and leave him without anyone to open up his cans of cat food or something.  Pony's not taking any chances, here.

How about your pets? Do they act differently when you're not feeling well?