Mithu has undertaken the training of DD1, recently 4 years old, who has
suddenly expressed a deep interest in the felines that have been part of
her world since birth. She follows him around the house, to pet him and
pick him up and carry him around. She's learned the tongue clicking
noise I use to get the cats' attention, and orders him around like a
drill sergeant.

She is learning, slowly, about the "you can't make a cat do what he
doesn't want to do" lesson.  He likes to go into her room to supervise
things, and when he's had enough of being picked up by the armpits
(we're working on that too), he crawls under her bed, just out of her
reach, to lounge -- "Mommy! Mithu's under my bed and he won't come out!"

He is incredibly patient and tolerant, perfect traits for his job. Not
to worry, though, I make sure he gets lots of down time, and have her
reward him with treats when he's been an especially good sport.

DD2 is still in the "chase them and pull their tails" phase of her
training. She is getting better about petting though.

Cheers,
Caroline S.