The Mystery of Mittens and the Midnight Howl

At exactly 3:12 AM in a Newark apartment, Mittens the British Shorthair let out a howl so loud her owner woke up thinking it was the fire alarm. Every night, without fail, Mittens planted herself in the hallway, staring at the closed bedroom door, and unleashed her midnight chorus. By day she was a lazy couch donut, never making a sound longer than a sneeze, but at night she became some kind of furry opera singer. Mittens wasn’t hungry, the litter box was clean, and when the door finally opened, she just blinked like nothing happened. The reason: British Shorthairs are notorious for something called ‘night calling,’ a stubborn habit where they demand attention right as their family falls asleep, and Mittens liked to deliver her solo at the exact minute her first owner used to rise for the bakery shift, years ago.