Leo and Tigger were shy and a bit afraid of us for their first few days here, running for cover when we entered their room or reached out to try to pet them, but they gradually relaxed and got used to us and the small room they’re now calling home. Now they welcome us with purrs and enjoy getting petted, at least for a minute or two before running off to play.

They do a lot of wrestling and sparring with each other, typical boys. Here they are under the same chair. They consider the chair rungs their jungle gym.

Ellen sat with them one evening writing Christmas cards, which they found interesting, but not as much as their toy mice. Those came with them from Kelly, who we adopted them from. They’ve already been to the vet for their first distemper shots, by the way, and were very good. They don’t mind riding in the cat carrier, unlike every other cat we’ve had.

But they’d much rather chase a piece of string, as Leo is doing here, looking rather like a Bobcat in this picture. His tail is much longer than it looks here, just the way this shot turned out. They also like to chase crumpled balls of paper, and a few other store-bought balls of various kinds.

But their favorite thing this week was chasing this “bird” on a string toy, which they would do until they caught it. Then whoever made the grab would hold on tight with teeth and claws, growling a fierce soprano growl that’s pretty funny.

Finally this afternoon the toy came loose from the string, leaving just a small plastic fastener, which is probably just as well, because now they can’t catch the end as easily and it’s more fun for all of us. Tigger did manage to get it by standing on it here. He looks quite proud of himself, doesn’t he?

Katie, our older cat, is still not a fan. In fact, when I’m in there playing with the kittens, she’ll sit out in the hall hissing and growling at them. After a bit, the hissing turns to coughs or wheezing, which she’s prone too, and none of her noises seem to faze the kittens.

But just to be on the safe side, we’re keeping the gate up on their doorway. They’ll sit there when they know it’s feeding time, just like at the zoo, and Tigger has already tried to venture out twice, he’s definitely the explorer of the two. We plan to keep them gated until after Christmas, to make it easier for our pet feeder when we’re away, but we’ll see how that goes.

And after activity of any sort, there’s nothing like a good nap. Let’s face it, Tigger and Leo have lucked into a pretty good life, and we’re having a great time with them. And I know blogging about kittens might seem like a bit off the track of my usual topics, but hey, they’re here, they’re cute, and I plan to blog about them periodically, probably about once a week, so get used to it, or skip the kitten posts, it’s your choice.