I had B over Friday night to cook up stuff for a work potluck, and we watched some animated Tick afterward. Misha’s usual thing is to come sit in my lap for a bit, which she did. She’d been in a good mood all day, so we decided to do an experiment: after she’d had enough, I gave B the chair and took the sofa. She refuses to sit on the sofa with me, so I wondered if she’d settle for someone else. Keep in mind, she’s not sat with another person since her daddy moved out back when she was about two or three. She bloody hates people. But she doesn’t hate B quite as much as she does others.

So after a bit, when she’d had a wander and wanted some warm, she returned to the living room, and saw B where she expected me. She stared at him for a bit. He put a hand down, and she fought with it, doing her yowl-hiss routine, but you could tell she was playing because she’d go just out of reach and then stop, waiting for him to lean down and grab her tail so she could swat him again. Then she did a circuit of the house, came back, eyeballed his lap uncertainly for a bit, while we patted his legs and did the “Come on up” routine that usually gets her to make up her mind when she’s considering cuddles with mommy.

I thought we’d need a few more sessions with him sitting in the chair before she’d go for it, but she jumped up and settled in, sweet and content as anything. First time in nearly two decades she’s played lap cat with anyone else.

She stayed up there for almost half an hour, until I booped her nose. She comes unglued when other people touch her, but usually lets me touch the fuzzy part of her nose and give her a rub between the eyes. She generally finds it relaxing. Not, however, when she’s on other laps. She jolted awake, hissed, jumped down, and promptly shunned me.

When she’s down on that bit of tissue, she’s generally facing one of us, or the teevee. She never lays down like this, with her face resolutely planted in the bookshelves. So I know she was pissed. Some treats soon set her little world right. She’s on her pillow in bed with me now, content as can be.

I wonder if she’ll stay this happy if we get a hedgehog? For some reason, hedgehogs came up during training. We watched this video:

And we looked at about a million adorable hedgehog photos, and by the end of the night, the entire team had decided we needed a team hedgehog. It would have to come home with one of us on the weekends. I bring one of those home, I’m probably dead. Misha loves being an only child, and lets me know in no uncertain terms that this happy state of affairs is not to change. On the other hand, she may view the thing as a mobile hairbrush and be just fine with it.

I guess we’ll see, if the team goes through with it.

Misha also did us the courtesy of posing adorably with the hand lens that George Wiman just sent me.

I bloody love this hand lens, and plan to put it to vigorous and excellent use this summer. Thanks, George!

And, bonus Kirby with a Harry Potter hat. He’s so adorable.

Right. Just wanted to mark this moment in history. I still cannot believe that my homicidal felid has decided another human being is worthy of being used as a kitty warmer. Perhaps she’s had a mini-stroke…