Well, okay, I adopted him a little over a month ago, but since the last cat to enter this household before him arrived in 2002, I think he qualifies as "newly arrived." The shelter estimates that he's between two and four years old, so he's clearly an adult kitty.

His name's Ignace, but if one goes by the theory that dogs come when called, but cats take a message and get back to you, the name on his message box is Iggy. He has picked up some nicknames since he arrived. I've been calling him "Dude" because he's the first male cat we've had in three years and also occasionally calling him "Igster." My housemate, the Button Lady ( www.nancybuttons.com/ ) has dubbed him "Iglet."

So far, Purza, mostly ignores him unless he gets too close while she's eating. Gillian, OTOH, doesn't like him at all, and sometimes goes out of her way to make the point. They do seem to be settling down a bit though.

This is one strong kitty. The adoption fee included microchipping, but he didn't have one and I had to take him in to the vet to get it done. He objected so strenuously that it took two vet techs, one of them wearing gauntlets and wielding a towel to insert the chip. Not fun.

And now pictures:

That's Purza in the foreground watching him.



And here's close up portrait.