CATS OF THE DAVIS HOUSHOLD
In November 2004 we lost Tigger, the grey-striped tabby who had lived with us for fourteen of her fifteen years. She came to us as rescue kitty, having been found by a friend wandering in a parking lot after a terrific winter storm, drinking from dirty puddles of water. She was wearing a tag, so the friend tracked down her owners, who lived several states away. They stated that since they hadn't seen her for six months, and they really weren't interested in getting her back, that the friend should just find her a home in Ohio. Since she wasn't getting along with my friend's other cats, and my house was empty of pets, she came to us.
When my girls were born, she apparently decided that there was one baby for each of us, and adopted Janette. Thus, when she lost her to an aggressive throat tumor, Janette was extremely upset. We were advised to wait several months before getting another cat, but....
Mad Maxx and Maggie Moo.
I heard about another kitty rescue. This one was of a family of cats, a mother and her two kittens. The mother was a beautiful calico, and the kittens, one male and one female, were almost identical tuxedo cats. Their rescuer already had two cats, and could not handle five, so we agreed to take the family. We were all set up for a feline population explosion when I went to get the cats.
Mama declined the invitation. The rescuer was able to get the kittens into the carriers, but Mama scratched fiercely and took off for parts of the house unknown. So we were down to two half-feral kittens.
Mad Maxx
I named the male Mad Maxx, after the Thunderdome movies, because of the wild look in his eyes. Because the kittens were six months old and approaching puberty fast, I had him scheduled for his little operation immediately. I don't think he ever forgave us. He was not comfortable living in a house, and rarely came out from under the bed to socialize. If he and Maggie were out at the same time, he would hiss if she tried to approach a Human. I saw him once scold Maggie for trying to take a kitty treat that I had put down for her -- but not because he wanted it. He was growing into a very large cat, but also was developing a spare tire from inactivity. In March, when the weather finally turned nice, Maxx found an open door and escaped. He did not return.
Since he was not adapting to life indoors, this probably is for the best. His life will be shorter and harder, but more worthwhile to him.
Maggie Moo
Maggie Moo did socialize properly, despite our taking her in for her own "little operation." (See Maggie's Favorite Story. She is still not a big cat, but she's a rather long cat. She's not a lap cat yet, and is still skittish around people, but is getting better. She has an absolute fascination with a certain toy mice -- the ones made from rabbit skin. One of her favorite games is to lie on the stairs while someone throws toy mice up at her. Another one of her favorite games is "Hunt the ant."
So why, we wonder does she keep trying to drown them in her water dish? Yet other times she sees that they are well fed.
"I'm not dead yet!" Stretched out, Maggie is a very long cat.
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Copywrite 2005 by Helen Davis for photos and text.