Ready for action!
This morning we have already had a staring contest with Hop-On (the three legged neighbour cat who appears in the garden), but as there was no screaming, growling, or hissing, I'm starting to think Bear's finally gotten the hang of living in a world where other cats exist. She still doesn’t have to actually socialise with them, don’t worry. But they’re there, which is new enough for her.
Also I had my mom bring me three of these horrendously ugly scratchy catnip mats from the States this week (where they’re literally half the price that they are in the UK), because I tried one for her right when we moved and she loves it. My second dearly departed childhood kitty, Oreo, spent quality time in her golden years curled up on one of these bad boys (on the landing of a stairwell conveniently) at my parents’ house, so I thought Bear might appreciate their magic, and I am pleased that she does. So now we’ve got one on every floor of the house, and when we’re doing too much walking around (or really just... not sitting on the sofa where she can sit next to us, and not in bed where she can snorgle down between us) she pops a cat squat on this thing and chills out. She is so cute I can’t stand it.