Cat progress?

I just had to take a minute away from writing to let you all know something really cute and hopeful that happened this morning.

I was eating breakfast on the couch as usual, and Natasha climbed up and settled into my crossed legs for a snuggle as usual ... everything was pretty typical, including Naski's sniffing and investigation into this mom-sister cuddling event that usually elicits growls and snarls from Tasha. This morning she was more tolerant, so Naski jumped up onto the couch too. Still no hiss (hooray!). Naski approached from Tasha's behind, which is usually a disaster, BUT. She either didn't notice him or didn't care. This is not atypical - most times we get to this stage, it's 'cause Tasha didn't notice or was sleepy enough to block him from her consciousness. And then she hears the tinkling of his nametag on his collar and she turns and whines and hisses and swats (if required) and looks at me as if to say "mom, WTF?! Take care of this shit!" (if required).

So today there was adorable, I-can't-believe-no-one-else-is-witnessing-this kind of progress. Naski jumped up, approached, and with only minimal whining from Tasha, started grooming her whole head. He licked the top of her head, her ears, her neck ... for a good 10 minutes. I know this is something that kittens will do to one another or momma cats will do to their babies, but I was totally agog that a) Naski was a sweet enough boy to make the gesture and b) that Natasha didn't run away at first lick. My heart was truly pounding the entire time and I wanted to shout from the rafters. Lord knows when the "perfect storm" might happen again, but I take this as a sign of things to come in our house. We do seems to take about 1.9876 steps back for every 2 forward with these two, but ... I guess with enough time, anything can be achieved!! *cartoonishly big grins*

No pictures from this event, since my lap was center stage and I was home alone. I barely breathed lest I disrupt the peaceful event! You'll just have to use your imagination.

0.0124 steps closer .........