Reaching out!

Extending the paw of friendship...

Finally - Bushka realises that Minibu (even when she's asleep) is neither threat nor prey.

This moving moment (sob!) was the very first time she gently touched Minibu. Now they are firm friends and Minibu has become Bushka's "shadow" as she trots along darkly next to her!

Minibu is small but brave!

Compared to Bushka, who is still growing, Minibu just looks so tiny... BUT, she is a feisty little kitten who can outstare and out bluff even a Lynx like Maine Coone!

Not amused...

Bushka, the Maine Coone & the Main Cat, is not amused at this fluffy black kitten - sans nez - interloper.

So she treats it as she would any other vermin - but wait - she seems slightly less aggressive and slightly more curious this morning...

Is Minibu getting under her skin as well?!

Enter Minibu stage left!

"Just popping out shopping" called out my wife, who for weeks earlier had been looking intently at kitten websites.

This is who she brought home - a tiny black Persianesque kitten "as a friend for Bushka..." So, we now have "Minibu"!

But OMG - Bushka hissed, growled, and flicked her tail - looking like a cross between an angry rattle-snake and a velociraptor!

Will they learn to accept each other - even become friends? Let's hope so!

What big eyes you have Grandma!

She only has to hear the rustle of the bedclothes being straightened in the morning and in she dives, preferably UNDER the duvet and cushions!

What is she thinking? It looks like a...

"Woah there! Don't even think about getting another kitten!"

In her element...

Bushka has now discovered the great outdoors with a vengeance! She stays out for a couple of hours at a time, but always comes running back, flying her tail, when we go out and call her.

The other day she happily returned with cobwebs on her tail, so she is clearly less arachnophobic than us!

She seems impervious to the cold - not that it has been THAT cold yet - but it seems her thick coat works as it should :-)