Well, Kiko continues to shake up the whole feline household!

She now excitedly chases and in turn is chased by both Kinikini and Kali, with mad dashes back and forth through the house. Unlike Bessie, Kiko is not afraid of the other two big cats and, at least for now, triggers play instead of fight behavior. She seems to be a master at coaxing them into these games, and it has perked up their lives!

Over nearly three years with us, Kini has earned a reputation as a bit of a bully, but Kiko apparently hasn’t gotten the memo. Today I watched as he brushed past her, and at the same time she rose up on her back legs, launched herself at him, draped across his shoulders and gave a little bit as an invitation to play. This time around, he just shook her off and continued across the room, but accepted the invitation just a few minutes later.

The cat tunnel has proved to be a multi-purpose item. It’s great for playing. It’s also great for napping. Sometimes they just play until one or the other cat crashes in place for a short rest. And Kiko has been digging through the toy basket and dragging out a variety of catnip toys as well as some nice little plastic balls with bells that can be heard at odd times announcing that games are under way. One of those balls appears in several of this week’s photos.

Bessie and Kiko have also started joint afternoon bird watching. I feed the birds out in the front yard, and it makes for fine kitty TV.

In any case, here they come!