There is no such thing in my house as being first between the clean sheets. It is my right - but it is never my privelege. Where some cats have an ear tuned to hear a can opener or a microwave, - one of mine has her sense of smell tuned to the scent of sun drenched sheets.

I can guarantee a small, black, warm and furry will quickly be settled into the folds, enjoying the weekly benefits of fresh linen in the laundry basket.

But no matter where she was, she is ALWAYS there, on the bed, as I start the process of making the bed. Despite her 7+ years she is full of pounce and play, and is, of late, adding a new dimension to the sport by chewing the Sheridan in her attempts to become fully interactive in bed making.

The teeth I discourage, both on the sheet and me. She is not vicious...she just gets a wee bit carried away with the sport. But soft words and gentle stroking quickly eases her momentary over-enthusiasm and we get back to work with me doing my utmost to get the corners properly positioned and she doing her utmost to make the job as hard as possible...but never tedious. She pounces, she plays, she attacks the creases, she skitters across the sheets, she poses and postures on the bed in ever changing attitudes of 'cute'.

I always sense an air of disappointment in her when the last pillow is dressed and the job done. Maybe this too-short fun is why she has started turning her paws to the proceeding job of stripping the bed. Where once I used to be able to flick the sheets off very quickly, now I have a helper racing back and forth, slowing the process with the weight of her body and the cuteness of her actions, riding the sheet off the edge until she plops onto the floor before flying to the mattress again to 'help' with the next bit.