I said it before and I'll say it again. In this series, if it is friend-shaped, it is a friend. To whit, Theo looks like a friendly kitty when first introduced therefore he remains a friend. But Maril looked bitchy from the get-go, therefore she is not a friend. The only exception to this (so far) is Oren, who started out looking like an a**e but he has matured since then, and become a full friend.