Tomorrow is my fiance's birthday, and for a surprise present I got him a kitten. I decided on a kitten instead of an adult cat because we have 2 dogs and 5 ferrets, and a kitten who grows up around all of these other animals is more likely to coexist peacefully with them, and maybe even be friends, than an adult cat who might already dislike dogs or other animals.
I found a woman on craigslist who was adopting these kittens to good homes, and I went to her house armed with a new cat carrier, some toys, and all of the necessary cat stuff in my trunk where I had been hiding it from my fiance for the past day and 1/2. There were 3 kittens left, and all looked pretty similar in terms of appearance. I picked Maximus because he had the softest fur, and also liked being handled more than the other 2 kittens did. The other 2 seemed very aloof, and he enjoyed being held and receiving affection. He especially loves belly rubs - it's cute, he rolls over on his back and purrs like a motorboat when you rub his tummy!
Maximus was born on January 31st, so he is about 9-10 weeks old. His Mother is part bengal, so he has some pretty neat looking stripes - he kind of looks like a zebra, especially on his tummy. Initially when I brought the little guy home, he was pretty overwhelmed, I suppose I would be too! Both dogs wanted to sniff him over thoroughly, lick him, and play. He just wanted to sleep after his long car ride home! My fiance loves him, and says that he was 100% surprised - I don't know HOW he didn't know...when I was on my way home he called my cell phone and I answered, and the kitten meowed very very loudly from his cat carrier in the back seat. I guess he didn't hear it, lucky for me!
At first Maximus hid under the ferret crate, or under the couch, and just wanted to either be held securely or be somewhere out of sight. The dogs are a bit intimidating I'm sure! Now though, he's settled down a lot. He's playing with everything, eating a bit, and is very vocal, walking around the house meowing. He even cuddled with the dogs for a bit on their dog bed on the floor. I'm proud of them, they are being very gentle with him and giving him lots of love - they did eat his food when we weren't looking though, obviously!
Maximus has not yet used his litter box (he hasn't had an accident at all, he just hasn't gone to the bathroom, period). We've shown him where it is and rubbed his paws in it, does anyone have any other suggestions to help with that?
Here are some pictures of our newest addition to the family -
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