Meet Tilly and Maxwell: Rescued, Recovered, and Ready to Rule the House

I went searching for a VERY laid-back, sweet, friendly, young adult cat who could bridge the gap between ourselves and Tilly since she resorts to severe aggression whenever she's frightened. And EVERYTHING frightens her!

So in the middle of January I hightailed it to our local shelter in search of the perfect cat. I saw Max the second I stepped into the room.

He was in a cage with one other cat and seemed very calm, so calm that I walked right on past him. LOL

I looked all around, and though there were some very nice cats, either they were too small (Tilly is a LARGE Maine Coon mix), or too high strung, or too young, or too old.

Eventually I made my way around the room and back to Max. There he was just hangin' out in his cage by the window. I said hi to him and he instantly came up to the bars and give my hand a head butt and a purr.

Max seemed like a young adult cat judging by his size, but he had no ID card so I went in search of an employee to find out if he was available for adoption.

The young man looked him up and told me that yes, he had just become available that morning, but they hadn't had time to make out a card for him.

And then he told me Max's story. A banker who held the mortgage on a house in the most expensive area in our town had shown up to inspect a foreclosure home and found Max in the house.

The owners had left him with a bag of food and an open toilet. Max had eaten the entire bag of food and ran out of water when the city turned it off.

They weren't sure how long he'd been alone in the home, but he was badly dehydrated and his collar had become embedded in his neck, so it was awhile.

The local vet had tended to Max, surgically removed the collar and they'd tried to fatten him up a bit. But oh my was he still skinny!

The employee at the shelter said they thought he was a young cat of about 8-10 months. I brought him straight home and that night while feeding him treats he nibbled on my fingers. With baby teeth!!!

We went for a visit to the vet the next afternoon and she confirmed for me that he was only 5-6 months old, was still undernourished and oh by the way, weighed 10.72 pounds!

Max is now about 7 months old, his fur is finally starting to grow back in on his neck and a wee bit of his lynx points have started to grow in again.

Oh yeah, forgot to mention that he had luxurious lynx points when I brought him home, but he had creeping crud and mites.

Max didn't appreciate all the gooey meds I had to smear on his ears and proceeded to rub it all off...along with ALL the fur on his ears. Silly boy.

Max turned out to be everything I could ever want in a companion for Tilly. He's her best friend, her brave defender and when she's around him she's relaxed and friendly.

And then there's Max. He's silly, he has 4 left feet and constantly trips over himself, he loves to play, is a huge purring machine and eats more than any cat I've ever owned...with gusto! I simply adore him. =)

Comments:

Maxwell
by: Toni
Hi Vicki, Thanks for taking time to read about my baby boy. He's filled out a lot this past year and we love him. =) I need to send in new pics of him now that his fur has all grown in. Turns out he's a medium hair with a big ruff and shaggy britches. LOL
Thanks again, Toni

Max
by: Vicky Issott
He's gorgeous. So glad he was rescued in time!

Max says hi
by: Toni
Thanks for the kind comments. =) Max is already starting to grow back a lot of the fur that he lost from his surgery, so I'm thrilled to see that he isn't going to have a strange ring around his neck all his life.

So far there is just a light fuzz on his ears, but you can see the lynx tips growing back even if they are still just fuzzy wee things. LOL

I have no idea if he's a pure Maine Coon or not since we don't know his background, but so far he seems to perfectly fit the profile for a Red Mackerel MC.

Huge tufts on his feet, a luxurious tail, the lynx tips (when he isn't licking medicine off of them) and the shaggy fur. I'm still unsure of the fur length at this point.

Having never owned such a young MC, I have no idea if medium length fur is normal and if they acquire the longer fur with age.

He's definitely medium length with longer shag around his belly and legs. Thanks again, Toni

That's So Great!
by: Jessy
I mean, that he gets on so well with your resident cat! Not the kind of thing you can guarantee. Here's hoping he regains his lynx tips. Nothing embellishes a Maine Coon as much.

Maxwell Fluffypants
by: June
What a wonderful story. So glad Maxwell has found a really good home.