by Dorothy Stuart
(Green Bay, Wisconsin)
Max at 2 years old
I have a 5, going on 6 year old part Maine Coon named Max. I don't know for sure how much Maine Coon he has in him because I don't have any papers for him.
Max could be considered a throw-away because that's what happened to him before I got him.
I was with my Mom at the cemetery where my father is buried. It was the beginning of May 2004 had been only 6 months since he passed away. I was feeling badly enough that I had lost my father and was at his grave. If that weren't bad enough I was unemployed, the COBRA coverage of my insurance had just expired, and no job was in sight.
While at my father's grave, I saw some people walking through the cemetery. I also saw something else--a creature that looked like a dog running back and forth through the graves along the path. As the people and the animal were at a distance a way, I could not make out what the animal was right away and that's why I assumed it was a dog because people were walking along as the animal ran around in the cemetery.
When the people and the animal got to where my mother and I were, imagine my surprise when the "dog" turned out to be Max, a small kitten. The people told me they had seen some people shove Max out of a car and then drive off. By then, I had called the kitten to me and then picked him up. I fell in love with him right away. My mother and I made the decision to bring him home. A vet check confirmed he was about 10 - 12 weeks old.
That kitten, thrown away for whatever reason is now Max the Cat. At nearly six years old, he's the darling of the house. I suspect he has quite a bit of Maine Coon in him because he grew to weigh close to 14 pounds. He's got a beautiful brown mackerel tabby coat with a patch on his chin as his only white spot. I showed pictures of him at a cat show to someone who raised Maine Coons and they said he had a classic Maine Coon head. He also has the thick coat, with longer hair on his belly, britches and chest/ruff. He also has a bushy, long tail and tufts of hair on the feet. And, he has the Maine Coon ability to chirp and trill as well as meow. He's extremely smart and has a personality as big as he is. He quickly learned how to shake hands. He is capable of playing games (soccer is his favorite when I roll a ball to him and he blocks it or swats it and sends it flyig back to me). And he is quite gentle and affectionate.
The picture I have here is a couple of years old, but it shows just what a handsome fellow Max is.
And, this is the story of my cat Max.
Dorothy
From Part Maine Coon--one person's trash another person's treasure to Maine Coon Cats
