We have officially lost Mad Max. 8 yrs ago, Max was just a kitten when we found him at the Leicester post office. Tiny little thing with a LOUD cry. We brought him home but kept him separate from the dogs and other cats because he was so small. Then one day it happened. He managed to escape from his room and into the kitchen right at feeding time. Which meant every dog was there.
They sniffed him from stem to stern. Rolled him over, cleaned his ears and butt, all of them. And Max just took it. He’d reach up every once in a while to slap someone’s ear that hung within reach but over all, the cat was fearless.
His fave dog by far was Joella. They were the two youngsters, just two years apart really. When Max broke his leg and had to be put in a dog crate for several months, Jo was almost always laying nearby. They played through the bars and he’d lean against them so Jo could clean his face. And she put her face near it so he could clean. This 8lb cat and this 80lb dog.
Max didn’t take crap from the dogs. If he was where one of them wanted to be, he wouldn’t move. Not even when one would sit on him. When it was feeding time, he’d sit where his bowl would be put but would run in and out of his space, swatting dogs as he went.
Three weeks ago or so, Max was not acting right. The side of his face was swollen from an abscess. We took him to the vet and he had surgery to remove four teeth and to clean out the abscess. This was just as I was leaving for the GCLS Con in Atlanta. Lorna picked him up Thursday morning and he was oh so much better! He ran around the house like, well, like he was Mad Max. Friday he was so obnoxious to be let out so she let him. He’d come in and out of the house to lay in her lap or to join her outside on the porch. At dinner, he wasn’t interested in eating and she figured it was his mouth was sore.
That’s the last she saw him. She looked everywhere she could think of and I did too when I returned Sunday. Part of us hoped he had gotten mad and just moved into some other humans’ lives. Part of us was afraid he was sicker than we thought and he’d gone off to die.
Today after work, Lorna took some “missing cat” signs I’d made to give to the folks in the trailer park up behind us. She got to just the second mailbox when she found him. We believe he was hit by a car, probably Friday or maybe Saturday morning two weeks ago. We buried him under the persimmon tree with the others that have graced our lives and moved on.
I’ve missed him. I’ve hoped he would return but, really, I knew he wouldn’t. Mad Max was not a pet. He was a friend.
I’m so sorry. Many condolences to you all.
He was a beautiful boy, Paula. It’s easy, seeing those pictures, to imagine what a happy time Max must have had with you and Lorna and the dogs.
Doll and I know all too well that words can never really do anything when you lose a pet, but just wanted to let you know we’re thinking of you and sending good thoughts to your family.
I hate it when people say “It was just a cat.” So thank you both for understanding.
I still can’t believe he is gone. He had such a powerful presence.
Currently I am trying to get out of mind how he looked when we found him. It was two weeks since he went missing so, well, you know. Lorna and I worked on it last night and I’m going to dig out all the photos we have of him to try and get that image out of our minds. We have never lost a cat to the road. Even though we live on the corner along a busy road. He wasn’t even up there. He was out back on the dirt road. Probably hunting in the ditches, his favorite past time.