It's been nearly five months since we rescued Ms. Cybelle and a few others from the house up at the top of Ahuimanu where nearly 50 cats were living--and dying--in almost indescribably bad conditions. That was back on March 1.

But she's fitting right into our Kaaawa household. Cybelle knows how to be invisible to the other cats. She makes few demands, and hasn't provoked any hostility. She's been the perfect guest, and is setting in as the perfect sibling.

Mr. Duke, her kitten, is also fitting in perfectly. He hasn't bothered the big cats enough to irritate them, and they in turn haven't picked on him at all. He's growing up quickly, though, and sometime in the not too distant future will have to take that trip to the vet to get tutored, as that old Larsen cartoon put it.

Duke's coloring is a work in progress. The colors are Siamese beige and brown, the pattern a tabby overlay. He's got beautifully formed tabby bulls eyes on his sides, and those patterns have gotten progressively darker.

It's easy to recall how excited we were when the first signs of color appeared along the edges of the kittens' ears when they were a week or two old. He's come a long way from there.

One threshold was crossed this week, literally. We opened the door and let Cybelle and Duke head for the outdoors.

On day one, both thoroughly explored the deck, sniffing everything. Duke seemed to want to chew on everything, each piece of crud somehow a delicate morsel, and I had to follow behind picking the grossest things out of his mouth. After that came some chasing around, under, and across the deck furniture.

On that first day, we kept them under close observation. Just in case.

On day #2, they ventured down the stairs. Cybelle stepped on the grass for the first time and didn't know quite what to make of it, but she began a careful and thorough exploration of the territory. On the first pass, she went down the stairs, along the back of the garage, over to the plants along the fence, then around the side, into the garage, then backtracked the whole route and trotted up the stairs again to the deck. Duke, meanwhile, retreated without going out onto the grass.

Over the next couple of days, Cybelle extended her exploration grid around the whole house and out a bit into the front yard, always returning to her starting point on the deck. Duke finally got up the courage to go down the stairs and at least begin to check out the yard, but his explorations have still been quite limited.

On Saturday, we held our breath as Cybelle found herself nose to nose on the deck with the big battered yellow stray tom cat who had come up the stairs to beg a meal.

Yellow cat has whupped our other cats, one by one, leaving them with various scratches, none serious. But they've learned to stay out of his way.

So I was heading for the scene to stave off a possible fight, but Cybelle calmly proceeded past yellow cat and headed into the house.

I think all concerned were relieved.

Another milestone of the week. It seems that Ms. Cybelle has finally virtually extinguished Duke's nursing. He still gets the urge from time to time, but she skillfully adjusts her posture so that he can't reach the vital parts. Then the interactions devolve either into play fights (left) or naps (right).

So it goes in Cybelle's world this week.