Quote:When I was about 10, we had family visiting for Christmas, resulting in me sleeping on a living room couch. A few nights before Christmas, our black cat got into his Christmas present of catnip that was wrapped up and under our Christmas tree. In the middle of the night, crazed on catnip, he jumped off our fireplace mantle and onto my head, howling and scratching like a rabid beast. Luckily, my head was mostly covered by a blanket or he might have scratched my eyes. It was a helluva way to wake up, and I was plenty freaked out. I nearly threw the cat, blanket and all, into the fireplace, which would have been a real disaster. As it was, that darn cat spent the rest of the night darting here and there, howling and jumping at shadows. I just huddled under the blanket and waited him out. The next morning he was passed out on the floor under the tree, surrounded by the wrapping paper he'd shredded off most of the other presents, looking for another fix of catnip.