more pictures: http://imgur.com/a/6Rz5h

to answer some questions: having a tough time with the final name, names are between his name from the shelter, Bear, and Bagheera(fitting for a little panther), Drogon (for the ASOIAF nerds) Kingsley Shacklecat (for the HP nerds), and Prop Joe.

about the purring....definitely not a stress thing, he's been happy as a clam since he got in the door, rubbing on everything, taking all the petting he can get, investigating every nook and cranny of the house.

the litter box is on the carpet b/c my bedroom is his "safe room" for his first few days in the house, also so i can keep an eye on the litterbox/his food and water. moving it to the basement soon.

I adopted him from the local shelter, and it wasn't a hard choice, he was by far the most curious/confident of all the kittys there, jumped right up in my lap and started purring immediately, plus he was by far the most fun to play with.

thanks all for the comments/karma, i was surprised at all this when I checked back after just 24 hours! although i can't say i'm shocked, I knew that picture was a winner the moment i took it.