An Arrangement Has Been Reached

Last night, as I was standing at the kitchen counter making my supper, someone brushed by my legs. As I looked down, I remember being a bit confused. Apricot was ensconced in his cat tree; the Rowdy Boys had just left the kitchen at high speed due to the new sound of the microwave coming on. (I don't worry about them and new sounds; it alarms them and they shake off the alarm and come back.)

I figured maybe Thimble? But it had felt too high up my leg, and too heavy for that, yet it couldn't possibly be ... Apricot looked up at me, all innocent. "Hi!"

He'd come down, made his way across a living room floor with a kitten minefield on it, just to come in and say hi. Well, someone got petted and praised and phooey on the supper prep!

Since that time, he's been up and down on his own decision, not letting himself be corralled by the kittens. Apparently, an arrangement has been reached.

This video was last night, around 7 pm.

He'll walk through the house, slightly hunched still, and sometimes the others will come over to him and sometimes they won't. Thimble isn't always instantly going toward him now. I've seen him meet both kittens (separate times) face to face, with only minimal growl and no hiss. Apparently the growl is the "medium" warning and the hiss is the "large" warning for him. I thought it would be the other way around.

Colby's the only one who has growled at him, and even that didn't happen this morning when they met face to face in the kitchen. I came back from my walk, and Apricot came to be my upside-down kitty, despite the fact that both kittens were in the kitchen on one of the cat trees, looking out the window (looking for me? They'd seen me leave the house this time).

The kittens are fascinated by Apricot, and they both came down from the cat tree and made their way over to him. Colby got there first, and met him head-on. A warning low growl from Apricot and no comment from Colby, and the two separated amicably and went on their way.

Colby managed to get a sniff in on Apricot's tail, too. I think tail-sniffing is a "safe" way to, well, research another a cat. Kind of like doing an online check (facebook, etc) for someone if they ask you on a date. It's not quite as risky as asking directly! Apricot sniffed Thimble's tail too, when Thimble got himself stuck above Apricot yesterday.

And today, although Apricot is in his Thinking Spot, he's sleeping (or pretending to) while the kittens are playing, which is not something he was doing Monday. He wouldn't even sleep when they fell asleep on Monday. Furthermore, he was thirsty, so he came down and got himself a drink from the fountain.

While he was down, he came over to the opposite side of the living room and said hello to me before heading back up to the top of the cat tree. I think right now he may be on top of the cat tree for the same reason I'm sitting in the settee. It's where we go in the morning (when I'm not at work, asleep, or doing chores, that is.)

This is most promising and far faster than I had anticipated.

Next the Rowdy Boys have to go to the vet today for their 12 week shots. They aren't quite 12 weeks old yet. That will be tomorrow, on New Year's Day. But the vet isn't open tomorrow, and the one I want to see isn't working Friday, so we're going today.

Just now, Apricot came down from the cat tree and went over to the litter box box to look out. Colby is sacked out on the middle cat tree and Thimble is on the floor, intently watching Apricot.