Ella the Cat?

I can think of only 10 months of my life when I did not have a cat, so I am very familiar with their behaviors and personalities.  One of those behaviors is the way they curl up next to or on a warm body to sleep at night.  I've spent many a night with a cat nestled snuggly between my legs or a cat's "elbow" leaning up on one of them; and I truly enjoy it. For many years I wouldn't move for fear of disrupting my kitty's sweet sleep; and then I learned that it doesn't matter -- move, and the sweet kitty moves with you.

Strong personality, extrovertedness and dislike for anything with buttons aside, Ella is my mini me.  She, too, enjoys a good night's sleep with cats, specifically our cat, Zoe.  She covets it.  Really, Ella likes doing anything with Zoe; and Zoe seems to feel the same way about Ella. If Zoe darts out the door in the evening (we prefer she stay indoors at night), it's Ella who runs after her and hauls her back in... successfully nearly 100% of the time.  Ella regularly finds Zoe in the house, picks her up and just loves up on her; and Zoe lets her, hanging in Ellas arms like a ragdoll.

Of the three beds in our household, Zoe makes her way to Ella's bed more than the other two, though mine and Dan's is a close second.  So Ella and Zoe have spent many a night together.

Looking back over the past couple of weeks, I'm thinking Zoe may have actually been in our bed most nights or at least a block of nights early in that timeframe. I say "looking back" because Ella has been exhibiting a new, somewhat strange behavior the same couple of weeks, and I'm starting to wonder if it's somehow tied to or influenced by Zoe.  The strange behavior?  Crawling up onto our bed and lying at the base of it (like, by our feet), sometimes curled up like a cat, sometimes stretched straight between the two of us and once even between my legs.  Sometimes Zoe is lying with or on her; other times, Zoe is no where to be found.  And Ella always has Blue Blankie (her treasure) and a stuffed animal lying somewhere next to her.  Short of preening herself and purring, she's acting just like a cat.

I don't always know it when it's happening.  Sometimes, I do and take her back to her room; other times I do and, well, don't take her back to her room because I'm just... so... tired (and maybe it's because I just think she's so darn cute).

Did she "get" this from Zoe?  Is she acting like a cat?  Or does she just simply find it crazy comfy at the base of our bed.  I don't know that we'll ever know for sure, if there's even an explanation for it.