Feline Friday coming soon.

In the meantime, some observations.

Kali and Kinikini are not the first adult cats we have adopted into our feline family. After all, Romeo was a stray that showed up on our doorstep on New Years Day in 2005 and stayed. Silverman was lounging on our back deck, socializing with our cats, when we returned from a trip to Chicago in September 1999, and in our absence had learned how to use the cat door to come inside and enjoy free meals. Etc, etc.

The difference is that those were indoor-outdoor cats. They could stay at a safe distance outside, and approach us at their own pace. Now our cats are strictly indoor cats. And that creates a whole different dynamic with more mental wear and tear for us, for sure, and probably for them as well.

Adopting kittens, by contrast, is a breeze. It just requires kitten-proofing your residence, identifying everything breakable and potentially within reach, then putting it into temporary safe storage before introducing the kitten. From there on, kittens tend to entertain themselves. Big cats may get annoyed at them, but aren’t threatened by them. And kittens are fearless in their indiscriminate playfulness.

All that said, there are real rewards for persevering. This week, which is Week #3 since Kini joined the household, we started leaving the door to his safe room open during the day. At first, that was limited to periods when we were at home. But as the week progressed, we left the door open when we went out shopping, and one day when we went out for lunch. It proved to be uneventful. The cats mostly sleep during the day, and it was peaceful coexistence as a result. For two days, Romeo slept soundly on the futon in Kini’s room, while Kinikini slept peacefully under it. No worries!

Last night–Thursday night–was the first time we went to bed and left Kinikini free to mix with Romeo and Kali. Around 3 a.m., I could hear sounds of cat feet through the house, so I got up to check. When I first looked, Kini was down the hall in his safe room, and Kali was hunkered down in the doorway from the living room into the hall, staring intently in his direction but from a very safe distance. A little later, as Kinikini trotted around the living room and kitchen, then out for a spin through the laundry room and pantry, Kali sat in a safe spot under one of the dining chairs and, again, just watched. Romeo, meanwhile, pretty much ignored the proceedings.

So we’re almost there. The more they are free to interact, the more comfortable they are in doing so. They have all touched noses without incident, and one of those interactions between Kali and Kinikini almost, but not quite, turned into a full rubbing of foreheads. Maybe next time.

But I expect that within a couple of days, Kali’s watching will turn into playing. After all, check out this photo of Kali displaying herself in the hall outside Kinikini’s safe room. It certainly looks like solicitation to come out and play!