3 out of 4 kittens agree:

• Whataburger makes the best chicken fajitas and picante sauce.


• Hard-boiled eggs are edible, but you have to play with them first.


• Liverwurst tastes better if you smush it into the linoleum before you lick it up.

The one food all eight of us have agreed on so far: canned Bumble Bee Prime Fillet Atlantic Salmon.

An update in the battle to win over their fuzzy little hearts and minds:

Tiger kitten, ever the seeker after truth, eschews such mundane activities as trying out new canapes and prefers to reach for the stars. This is the one who interacts the least with other species, giving curmudgeon cat a wide berth, only occasionally taking a swipe at the dog's fluffy wagging tail, and running out of the room every time I get up from the computer. I did trick this one into taking some of that yummy salmon right from my hand once. Once.

Patches kitten sits off to the side and observes. And takes notes. I still can't touch this one either, except to get my fingers licked if they taste good enough, but like the two blues, this one runs expectantly to the kitchen at food time, and follows me around the place if I'm carrying a plate of something.

Blue kitten 1 is the half-cuddler, going so far as to jump up in the chair with me, so long as I keep both hands on the keyboard, or snuggling briefly when I'm lying on the sofa or the bed, but only if I'm reading a book. This one likes being brushed but bare hands are still suspect [unless they're holding food].

Blue kitten 2 has crossed over to the Dark Side and become a pest, snuggling up to me, to the dog, to curmudgeon cat, even when we want to be left alone. This one purrs non-stop, loves sitting in laps, being carried, being brushed, helping with the blogging. Which is all very funny, because blue kitten 2 is the one who wouldn't be taken alive a few short weeks ago.

All four of them still attack feet [and dirty socks and catnip toys] and all four have discovered the joys of racing across the bed at 3am [humans are so entertaining when you wake them up like that].

Also, all four of the kittens find strange humans fascinating... so long as said humans stay on the outside of the front windows. Once they come into the house, the only thing any prospective adopters ever get to see are some furry streaks leaving the room. And my neighbors are all getting a little tired of being pressed into service as kitten desensitizers, especially when I try to smear them with canned salmon.