"Bud's a baby tiger!"

I've got my 2-year-old niece here today so my SiL can meet up with a friend for dinner, and my niece, Claudia, was all: "I can't wait to see Bud!" on the car ride here.

So when she's here, among the many games I play with her is asking:

"Claudia, what kind of animal is Bud? Is he a doggie? Does he say bark bark bark!?!?"

And she smiles and says "Noooo! Bud's not a doggie!"

"Is Bud a squirrel? Does Bud climb up trees and eat chestnuts?"

"Noooo! Buddy's not a squirrel!"

"Well, Claudia, what kind of animal is he?"

And this time she responded: "Bud's a baby tiger! Grrrrr!"

I thought that was pretty funny and had to share. Bud is the King of the household, but when my niece is here, she takes over the throne...by force lol. But seriously, I couldn't be more proud of the way Bud is with her. He seems to sense she's a young human and he never has his claws out with her, and is always gentle. It's fun to watch them together.

Just seeing this post.  That's so cute--your baby tiger!  

One of our cats is good with the grandkids when they come over--she allows petting and playing, and doesn't run from them.  The other cats run for the hills when little kids are around.  

That's awesome! There's something special about those cats who seem to understand that they're dealing with young humans and are gentle with them. Don't get me wrong, when I watch my niece I keep an eye on her constantly, especially because she's NOT my kid, you know what I mean? But I do love watching her and my cat interact.