eleven o'clock
It would tolerate no whims , no departures from the regular course of things . It understood that there was a fixed hour for rising and for going to bed , and when it was displeased it allowed a shade of annoyance to pass into its eyes , the sense of which its master could not mistake . If he returned before eleven at night , the cat was waiting for him in the vestibule , scratching the wood of the door , miaouing , even before Durtal was in the hall ; then it rolled its languorous green-golden eyes at him , rubbed against his trouser leg , stood up on its hind feet like a tiny rearing horse and affectionately wagged its head at him as he approached . If eleven o'clock had passed it did not run along in front of him , but would only , very grudgingly , rise when he came up , and then it would arch its back and suffer no caresses . When he came later yet , it would not budge , and would complain and groan if he took the liberty of stroking its head or scratching its throat . This morning it had no patience with Durtal 's laziness . It squatted on its hunkers , and swelled up , then it approached stealthily and sat down two steps away from its master 's face , staring at him with an atrociously false eye , signifying that the time had come for him to abdicate and leave the warm place for a cold cat .