kittens

In the past couple of days the kittens have started to venture on to my lap.  This is a big step for them, metaphorically speaking.  It took them a couple of days to stop hiding behind the furniture when we came into the room, then they started to look at us from a safe distance but were wary if we made any movement towards them, though we scooped them up when we could to initiate some physical contact.

Then they started to sit near us, and would allow themselves to be stroked if they were feeling brave.  Mr Fluffy, who hissed at us each time we touched him or tried to touch him in the early days of our acquaintance, discovered that he loved being stroked, and was soon roaring his approval, laying his tiny fluffy body out on the arm of my chair.  One of his brothers, who is the most energetic of the three, also grew to like human touch and would purr if I stroked him as he lay on the by now rather battered footstool at my knees.  The third, most athletic and aloof of the trio, consented to be stroked at times, and even came and hovered at the edge of the love fest if I were making a fuss of his brothers, but I could see that he still didn't get it.

Now Mr Fluffy and the energetic kitten are starting to make the first move, clambering slightly gingerly into my lap, where Mr Fluffy is keen on nuzzling my fleece before chewing the tag on the zip.  His brother likes to nibble my clothes, and my fingers, though not painfully.  They have also started walking across my laptop, which is problematic.  I don't want to rebuff their advances at this stage, but in the long run I don't want them in the habit of stomping on my keyboard.  As it is one of them has managed to open the Chrome help page, which I never knew existed, and to open an unfamiliar search page which I think must have been something to do with Microsoft.  The term entered in the search box was Everything.

The aloof and athletic brother has mastered the art of jumping straight up to the window sill in a single bound.  I haven't seen either of the others do that yet, they still take a circuitous route via the stool and the armchairs.  He is not brave enough to settle in my lap, but has walked across it a few times, and across the keyboard, as if en route from desk to window ledge.  This morning he lingered for a few seconds before continuing on his way.  I don't think he is ever going to be a cuddly cat, but he may come to like us on his own terms.