My New Kitten. *Updated - He's home!* Added more pictures.

[LuckyNumber7]

I currently have 8 pets at my house - 2 dogs, 5 ferrets, and 1 kitten named Maximus. He is about 4 months old now, and he thinks he's a dog. He is constantly surrounded by dogs, whether they be our dogs, or the foster dogs that are always in and out of the house.

My fiance and I thought it would be a good idea to get him a buddy so that he has a little feline friend to play with. A friend of mine in Tennessee takes in orphaned kittens and bottle feeds them until they are old enough to be adopted out. I am adopting a kitten from her...he is 6 weeks old today, and eating solid food and using the litter box already.

We are naming him Commodus...so we will have Maximus, and Commodus, from the movie Gladiator :)

The woman emailed me pictures of 23 different kittens....(yes, she is bottle feeding 23 kittens!) and I picked him out because I fell in love with the 2nd picture of him.

I'll post more once I get him on Saturday afternoon.

Introducing Commodus!!

http://i37.photobucket.com/albums/e64/ifallapart/Picture671.jpg

http://i37.photobucket.com/albums/e64/ifallapart/Picture672.jpg

[moosmom]

OMG!!! How adorable!!!

[jennielynn1970]

AAWWWWEEE!!! He is so sweet looking! I love that little face!! Please bestow some kissies on that little nose for me! :D

[LuckyNumber7]

I promise I will!!

I specifically wanted to adopt from this woman because the has her kittens around dogs a lot, so he will be used to dogs being in his face already :)

I hope him and Maximus get along well!

[catmandu]

And as we say at the Found Cat Paradise hotel you can never go wrong with
ORANGE!
Hes going to be a GREAT CAT!!!

[LuckyNumber7]

Aww - are orange cats usually great cats? I can tell he will be because of his smile in the 2nd picture :)

I figured if we got a color that was different from Maximus's grey tiger stripes, it would be easier to tell them apart!

I forgot to mention....if anyone wants to adopt a kitten, let me know lol This woman lives in Tennessee, and has 22 more that she is going to find great homes for :)

I had mine tested for FIV and had a fecal test done as well, before having her sent here, and both were negative! So he's healthy! Yay :D

[Freedom]

Oh boy, another orangie to add to the PT mix! How grand!

He is too cute. Best wished little Commodus, and keep eating, you have a

L O N G name to carry around with you!

[LuckyNumber7]

I was thinking his name may be a bit long.

Maximus's is easy - we just call him Max for short. But what the heck do you shorten Commodus to? Commie?! lol

Here is Max, by the way. His favorite spot to sleep is in my jade plant.

http://i37.photobucket.com/albums/e64/ifallapart/dsc_9800.jpg

http://i37.photobucket.com/albums/e64/ifallapart/dsc_9802.jpg

Hanging out in the dog toy basket

http://i37.photobucket.com/albums/e64/ifallapart/Maximus/DSC_7807.jpg

[Taz_Zoee]

Commodus is adorable!! How bout Odus as a short name for him? I look forward to more pictures of him and Max after this weekend. I'm sure they will get along just fine. :D

[LuckyNumber7]

Odus!

I like that, thank you!!!

[columbine]

Maximus's is easy - we just call him Max for short. But what the heck do you shorten Commodus to? Commie?! lolHow about Modo? Then when he's acting like he's got bats in his belfry you can call him Quasimodo!

I love his goofy little smile!

Love, Columbine

[Pawla]

What a cute baby!! I can definately see why you fell in love with the second picture. He looks as if he's smiling for the camera! Hope you all have a long happy life together! :)

[cassiesmom]

Well, you could call him Odie, but in the comic strip, Odie is a dog...

What a darling itty bitty baby kitty! I laughed out loud where I saw the photo with his big eyes and goofy little smile. When I saw Max in your jade plants I thought how big he's getting - then I saw him in the blue basket and he still looks kittenish! These two are going to keep each other busy. And we on Pet Talk will have another cat continuing the fine Orange tradition!

[LuckyNumber7]

I think the picture of him in the jade is about a week more recent than the one of him in the basket, so maybe he looks a bit bigger!

He's definitely turning into a handsome young man right before our eyes :)

[krazyaboutkatz]

Congrats!!!:D Your new kitten sure is a cutie pie.:) Orangies are wonderful cats and have great personalities too. My Sunny is a very goofy boy.:) I can't wait to see more pictures of both of your kittens.:)

[luckies4me]

OMG that picture of him just sent me into hysterics! LOL! :D What a cutie!!! I mean, the picture made me happy! Thank you for sharing him with us. :D

[Pawsitive Thinking]

I love the smiling picture :D What beautiful kitties you have

[KitCat]

What a little sweetie!

[ShylanHal]

You could always nickname Commodus "Dus" or "Duz" (dooze or doose) or something (got the name off an anime I watch.. though Commodus doesn't really look like a dinasoar man o.O) But it's short and cute XD

[kb2yjx]

Just LOVE those ORANGEMEN!!! How Augustus(you could call him Auggie), Caesar, Antony(Tony for short). He is just so precious!!!

[LuckyNumber7]

Well, Commodus is home! He's a total sweetie - the tyrant name might not fit him, but we've been calling him "Commie" for short which is sort of funny.

So far, Maximus isn't quite sure he likes having a "friend". He's sort of following him around and batting at him tentatively when he gets a chance to. Commodus definitely wants to hang out with him, but Maximus is still getting used to the idea. So in the meantime, Commodus is cuddling with the dogs. He does this really funny thing, to people AND dogs. He'll take both paws and put them on either side of my face, and repeatedly lick my nose. Earlier today I saw him do the same thing to my dogs, it was too cute. I actually managed to get a few pictures of it, which I will upload in a little while.

Here are some from yesterday!

The 1st introduction!

http://i37.photobucket.com/albums/e64/ifallapart/DSC_0376.jpg

http://i37.photobucket.com/albums/e64/ifallapart/DSC_0414.jpg

We had a foster dog here named Lando, who was about the size of Commodus, and they kept wrestling...

http://i37.photobucket.com/albums/e64/ifallapart/DSC_0548.jpg

http://i37.photobucket.com/albums/e64/ifallapart/DSC_0549.jpg

http://i37.photobucket.com/albums/e64/ifallapart/DSC_0564.jpg

http://i37.photobucket.com/albums/e64/ifallapart/DSC_0568.jpg

Maximus was WAY bigger than Lando, and we took a few pictures to prove it...but 1/2way through the pictures, Lando decided he would rather play with Maximus and lick him.

http://i37.photobucket.com/albums/e64/ifallapart/DSC_0460.jpg

http://i37.photobucket.com/albums/e64/ifallapart/DSC_0471.jpg

http://i37.photobucket.com/albums/e64/ifallapart/DSC_0467.jpg

^ I LOVE that last one. A few more to follow!

[LuckyNumber7]

Last ones til a bit later :)

http://i37.photobucket.com/albums/e64/ifallapart/DSC_0579.jpg

http://i37.photobucket.com/albums/e64/ifallapart/DSC_0590.jpg

http://i37.photobucket.com/albums/e64/ifallapart/DSC_0625.jpg

http://i37.photobucket.com/albums/e64/ifallapart/DSC_0630.jpg

http://i37.photobucket.com/albums/e64/ifallapart/DSC_0624.jpg

http://i37.photobucket.com/albums/e64/ifallapart/DSC_0635.jpg

Head-bat!!

http://i37.photobucket.com/albums/e64/ifallapart/DSC_0636.jpg

Taking a nap with Molly :)

http://i37.photobucket.com/albums/e64/ifallapart/DSC_0708.jpg

We love the little guy so much!

[krazyaboutkatz]

These pictures are precious.:) Welcome home Commie!!!:) I'm sure that both Maxi and Commie will soon be best friends.:)

[LuckyNumber7]

I hope so!!

A few times Max has gotten a little rough with him, so I've been keeping a close eye on things. Should I just let them figure it out? Anyone have any tips on helping them get acquainted? Thanks!!

PS - I LOVE your sig! Ziggy's eyes are amazing.

[momcat]

Welcome to PT Commie! It's easy to see why your new Meowmie fell in love with you, you stole my heart at your first picture. You couldn't possibly be any cuter or sweeter! Please ask your Meowmie to give you some welcome scritchies and tummy rubs from me?

[catmandu]

Thats a tough call as they may just be playing.
The Older Cats will boss the new Kitten around and show him whos boss.
If they seem to be playing I would let them be.
But if Commodus looks scared or seems to be being hit then I would call a time out.Like they do in Kindergarten.

[LuckyNumber7]

It is sort of a tough call. A few times Commodus has meowed like he may be a bit scared, and Max has backed off, or I've made him back off. But then Commodus will go right back to trying to play with him, so I don't think he's getting hurt or anything. I'm giving them their space for the most part to let them work it out on their own. It's strange how BIG Max looks all of a sudden - and he's only 4 months old!!

[krazyaboutkatz]

I hope so!!

A few times Max has gotten a little rough with him, so I've been keeping a close eye on things. Should I just let them figure it out? Anyone have any tips on helping them get acquainted? Thanks!!

PS - I LOVE your sig! Ziggy's eyes are amazing.
Thanks, I'd just let them work things out. Every time I adopted a kitten, I just let them roam around with the others and they'd all hiss and spit for a few days but then they'd get over it and settle in. Kittens play rough so some of the time you may think that they're fighting but they're really just rough housing. I'm sure that everything will go well and at least both kittens love dogs.:)

[LuckyNumber7]

Here are some more pictures!! I love the ones of Commie licking Molly's nose - too funny!

http://i37.photobucket.com/albums/e64/ifallapart/DSC_0848.jpg

http://i37.photobucket.com/albums/e64/ifallapart/DSC_0834.jpg

http://i37.photobucket.com/albums/e64/ifallapart/DSC_0825.jpg

http://i37.photobucket.com/albums/e64/ifallapart/DSC_0823.jpg

http://i37.photobucket.com/albums/e64/ifallapart/DSC_0814.jpg

http://i37.photobucket.com/albums/e64/ifallapart/DSC_0793.jpg

http://i37.photobucket.com/albums/e64/ifallapart/DSC_0791.jpg

http://i37.photobucket.com/albums/e64/ifallapart/DSC_0790.jpg

more to follow...

[LuckyNumber7]

http://i37.photobucket.com/albums/e64/ifallapart/DSC_0780.jpg

http://i37.photobucket.com/albums/e64/ifallapart/DSC_0779.jpg

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http://i37.photobucket.com/albums/e64/ifallapart/DSC_0755.jpg

http://i37.photobucket.com/albums/e64/ifallapart/DSC_0748.jpg

[Catty1]

Commie-odus! - If your eyes get any bigger and wider, d'ere gonna POP!

What a wonderful tangle of fur and kittens and pups! That nose-licking is just TOO cute!

[LuckyNumber7]

Thanks Catty1! I'm glad you like the pictures :)

We're going to make Commie a vet appointment for a couple of days from now. They were able to give him a distemper shot and test for FIV (which was negative) as well as do a fecal, which was also negative, but he was too young to have any other things done.

[Maya & Inka's mommy]

Oh gosh!!!! What a cutiepie is little Commodus :) . I think I fell in love with him immediately!! You have such friendly dogs, I love to see the interaction between them and the cats :)

[Pawsitive Thinking]

How lovely to see cats and dogs so happy together :D

Any tips on how you managed it? I would love it for Brody, Tobey and Archie to get along half as well

[Freedom]

*contented sigh* what a wonderful group of photos to start my day with a smile!

You know, Max has been with you long enough to see foster dogs come and go. He could be wondering how long before this one leaves, he he.

The main thing I would do with those 2 little guys is clip their nails once a week. Kittens can play rough, they are learning to control their movements and their strength. You don't need a scratched cornea, even as an accident. It is sore for the kitty and a nuisance to treat, with lots of eye drops and gels.

With so many playmates, I bet both of them sleep well!

[Pawla]

All your pictures are great! Looks like one big happy family! :D

[LuckyNumber7]

Freedom, that's a good idea. We try to clip them very often to cut down on the amount of scratches on US but I never thought of them accidentally hurting each other.

I think Max is starting to get used to the idea of having another cat around. They have been playing with each other sporadically, and ate and drank together last night and this morning. Max made a few hissy/growly sounds but tolerated it nicely other than that :)

Brody's Mom - part of the reason they get along so well is because from the time our dogs were tiny puppies, we used the command "gentle" with them a LOT. We have 5 ferrets here that Lucy grew up playing with, so she sort of knows to be gentle and chill out when playing with an animal that is smaller than her. A lot of people do the whole routine of when you first bring a cat home, keep it in a separate room, let them smell each other through the door, or put it in a carrier so the dogs can check it out like that....I don't do that. I've tried it, and it seems to just add to the curiosity level and makes them wild trying to get to the cat. If I just let them sniff the cat right up from and sternly tell them gentle while the cat crawls all over them, from there on it's smooth sailing. They do like to play with the cats - whether it be wrestling a little bit, or chasing when the cat antagonizes them...but they're really good about not being rough.

[kb2yjx]

I think soo you will find them asleep in a heap together!!!

[rg_girlca]

"Oh gosh Mom, can't you get this little runt OFF of me."
http://i37.photobucket.com/albums/e64/ifallapart/DSC_0755.jpg

LOVE THIS PICTURE!!! LOL!!!! The eyes on your dog says it all. Too funny.

All your pictures are great and I just love your adorable kitties. :)

[LuckyNumber7]

lol

Every once in a while Molly will get fed up with him chewing on her and just whap him on the head with her paw. He typically is completely unfazed by that and just keeps chewing. So she'll look at me like "Hey, a little help here eh??"

She's a good girl :)

[Pawla]

The cat looks so thrilled in the one where the dog is chewing on his ear. It's hilarious!!! :D