Two Maine Coon Rescue Stories

This story is copied from the posted "Success Story" of the Quincy Animal Shelter (www.quincyanimalshelter.org) in Quincy, Massachusetts.

I am a volunteer at this 100% no-kill/all volunteer shelter and, well...let the story reveal itself. Hope you like it!

Dear Quincy Animal Shelter,

Abby (aka Mumma Kitty/Miss Priss) has settled in nicely. She spent the first couple days zooming through the house like a whirling dervish - no doubt excited at her new-found freedom!

She watches TV with me on the bed (she loves Animal Planet), lets me know when it's time to eat, and rushes to get me when the birds outside are gobbling up the dry food left for the stray/feral cats!

She's very vocal, especially when it's time to sleep, and is my kitty alarm clock in the morning. Abby also has a distinct meow that sounds like "Mumma" when she wants attention.

Although she's not a lap cat, she luxuriates in ear scratches and belly rubs, and will sit on the newspaper or book you're reading if she hasn't had enough. It's funny to see her pile up her toys in the middle of her turbo scratcher like a toy box.

Then she takes a running dive at them, sending them flying all over the place! The best is when she's waiting at the door when I come home from work, full of love and excitement to tell me about her day.

- Gail M.

This story is especially warm to my heart since Abby chose me one week after my beloved tortie, Sadie, crossed the Rainbow Bridge at 17 years.

A week after Sadie passed, I was cleaning out cat cages when I kept feeling a smack upside my head. Looking up, I saw this gorgeous Maine Coon with huge outstretched paws begging for attention.

Getting closer, she touched the sides of my face with her gigantic paws. Opening the cage, she retracted her massive claws and gently touched my tears and head-butt me while purring.

I put a "hold" on her for one week to ensure I was adopting her for the right reasons. The following week when I passed her cage, I heard this thunderous meow that sounded like "MUMMA!" Yep, the rest is history.

I was pet-less for the first time in my life. I went to the local pet shop on a whim & their shop cat, an American Shorthair, had kittens.

They were giving them away for $20 with a new kitten package.

The tiniest one fit in the palm of my hand & just looked up at me and meowed - I couldn't resist! I named her Zilah (Hebrew for shadow since she's jet black.)

A couple years later when it was obvious something was wrong, I spoke with a vet: Zilah's 'knee' joints on her hind legs had grown wrong and she couldn't run or jump.

I took her home with some joint supplement and do what I can to keep her comfortable.

My friend Barbara got married and was moving in with her new family. The main problem was that her in-laws were deathly allergic to cats and she had a very fluffy & rambunctious cat named Holly, that is a smoky-black Maine Coon.

She was 5 months younger than Zilah but already twice as big. I spoke up & said I could make room for her. This cat grew up with a Great Dane & a Shitzu, bouncing off the kids and dogs alike after getting a house-long running leap! Of course she agitated Zilah, but they seemed to get along.

My friend Jen moved nearby, renting a house with a no pets rule. She had a slightly overweight, 4yr old Bengal/British Tabby male named Bailee.

Sucker that I am, I agreed to keep him for her! He enjoys being the man of the house but even better: he gave Holly someone to run and wrestle with which gave Zilah a much needed break since she has begun to go blind in her 8th year. The only problem is he seems to get urinary blockages a lot.

Of course, one day at my house Jen's son heard a crying and found a kitten under my truck in my driveway. It was an orange tabby, cute, and the softest I'd ever felt! We tried to see if someone lost her, but no luck.

He named her Mia and she has grown as big as Holly in 5 months. She looks like a mix with a Maine Coon, but you'll have to decide for yourself.

Mia and Bailee were inseparable at first, but then Mia went into heat unexpectedly at an estimated 4mos old.

Bailee - who is neutered - got a bit confused at what to do and would hold her down by biting her neck, but then he would let her up & stare at her because he just didn't know where to go from there!

When it was safe we had her spayed and she changed her play habits. Poor Bailee only gets to romp occasionally with Holly or Mia.

Now they chase each other around and hiss at Bailee or refuse to play. But don't feel bad for him, I took in another wanderer: a brindle boxer female the same age as Mia.

Her name changes every week, from Caramel to Sephira, and currently Puppy Paws courtesy of my 5yr old.

She and Bailee wrestle, and run like a herd of buffalo thru the house. So here we all are at the "farm" & racking up those vet bills - you know how that goes! LOL