Rufus’ horizons continue to expand.

He’s begun making solo forays downstairs. He’s visited the kitchen and dining room a couple of times–he quite enjoyed spending time on the rug where Maggie sprinkles catnip.

He’s come into the bedroom a few times. On two of those visits, I’ve put him on the bed and given him cuddles. Both times he seemed nervous and left as quickly as he politely could. He is, as I’ve noted before, a very polite creature.

Last week he dropped by the other cats’ food bowls and was quite miffed to discover there was no food in them.

We explained that it’s extremely rare to find food in the bowls in the evening, because we fill them shortly before bedtime. He listened, nodded, and then said “But there’s no food in the bowls.” Well, actually he said “Growp, gwack,” but we’re fairly sure about the translation.

The real breakthrough came this Wednesday. I had been upstairs working, and came down to flop on the bed to read for a while, only to discover that my spot had been usurped. Yes, that’s my pillow he’s leaning against.

I don’t know how long he’d been there, but he seemed quite comfortable.

Even more impressively, he wasn’t alone.

Yuki and Rufus shared the bed for at least two hours–I wound up reading elsewhere–and parted amicably.