It’s been very cold in Portland for the past month. It’s a little unusual, but that’s not why I mention it.
I’ve discovered that, when I turn the heat on in my apartment, I have an allergic reaction. I have electric baseboard heat (I know, not the most efficient). My nose starts running, my eyes itch, I get a lot of phlegm in my throat… ugh. So I generally only turn up the heat right when I get home, or right when I get up, get the house kinda/sorta warm, then turn it back down again and put on extra layers of clothes.
When I first got Smacky, I assumed that my allergic reaction was to him, but it seems that is not the case. It’s just that I got Smacky in the late summer, and by fall and winter last year I had started to use the heat in my apartment. I connected the cat with the allergies, and decided to kick Smacky out of my bedroom as much as possible. But now I realize, not having the heat on means no allergies. Coolio.
In the past couple of days, I’ve been letting Smacky sleep with me again. I turn down the heat, and then have a warm furry object laying (usually) on my chest or around my neck, right where the blankets don’t cover. It’s awesome.
Only drawback is that Smacky is kind of an asshole if he gets woken up suddenly. The other morning I was awakened in the middle of the night by having a grumpy cat biting my arm and clawing at my nose. He actually drew blood, the little shit.