for the nature of my argument i am instancing the presence of one lap per person, and that in order to use said feline efficiently, one must have one or more on their lap at a time.

if one estimates the average sleep-time of a feline at 18 hours per day:

24 hours in a day - 18 sleep hours = 6 waking hours

one finds that there are 6 hours per day in which said feline will be awake. one must take into account, however, that not all waking moments are lap efficient:

6 waking hours = x awake lap-time � (~ 1 hour eating + 1 (bathroom + box scratch hours) + 2 walk/stare/mau random hours)

maximum awake lap time = 2 hours

also, one must consider that a percentage (~20% or 3.6 hours) of a feline�s sleeping hours may be done on a lap if the lap remains perfectly still and warm. thusly, to come to an average and rounded figure one must suppose that cats are available for ~5.6 hours of lap time per day. after the mood and/or whim of a feline is considered, the average lap time lowers to ~ 4 hours per day.

the human factor is also of point in interest, for humans often work elsewhere than where they live. humans also can be found sleeping any and/or all hours of the day or evening. for an average figure, i will use 8 hours of sleep and 8 hours of work, therefore:

24 hours in a day � (8 sleep hours + 8 work hours + 1 (lunch away from home) hour +1 travel hour + .5 hour water/shower time + 1 bathroom hour) = 4.5 free waking hours

humans take a variety of time out of their day for socialization and/or time spent away from home � allowing for this factor, we must now assume that the maximum number of available lap hours averages down to ~3 available lap hours. (note: it is assumed in these calculations that the humans involved are not fortunate enough to work from home.)

herein we come to a ratio of:

4 hours feline available lap time : 3 hours available human lap time

one might assume from these calculations that an average of one feline per person would fully utilize most of the available snuggle time, but such assumptions would be incorrect. both felines and humans are inclined to moods � angry, seclusive, playful � often coming into conflict with valuable lap time hours. in order to average out such swings, one may add one or more humans and/or felines into the equation:

8 hours feline (x2) available lap time : 6 hours available human (x2) lap time

this is the point where one must consider the nature of the feline, something completely and utterly non-understandable. while some felines enjoy large amounts of lap time, others do not. humans on the other hand usually select to spend the time with the felines, inviting them into their households and expecting maximum lap snuggle time (unless in certain cases of having a living arrangement and agreement with said animals, but these cases are rare, indeed.) one would have to suppose in this case that the average feline to human ratio would increase:

2 humans : 3 felines

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did i mention that TT and i picked up a new kitten yesterday? heh.