Buhbye, Maximus!
I was checking the shelter page to see who got adopted this weekend, and found out that our little troublemaker Maximus is gone.
Maximus had a bit of a history; he will tolerate you around him, but he can lash out, out of insecurity. He doesn't like being pushed around and being told what to do, which proved to be extremely difficult every morning when we have to put the kitties outside to clean their enclosure. I don't think there's one caretaker who doesn't have a scar made by him.
I had several approaches to deal with him. One was to put his food outside and lock him out while he ate, but with the cold wet weather lately, it breaks my heart to do so and make him wait out there more than it is necessary.
My second approach was to chase him around with whatever object I could find LOL, a blanket or a basket, but he'd lash at it and I'd waste more time, get upset at him, and stress the cat out more than anything, so I opted for my third and final approach:
Leave him be.
This worked fine, except he wouldn't stay still all of he time, and sometimes he would climb down of his perch while I was cleaning, and due to the watery floor he had no grip to get back up. But there were times where he'd just sit there quietly, and watch me work, making sure I didn't get too close, or he'd lash at me. After we were done cleaning it was like a switch went off, he'd no longer be aggressive so I guess he knew once the floor had been dried he was safe from our "bullying" heheh.
So today I see that someone has adopted him. I'd have paid grand to see how they managed to stuff him into a travelling cage LOL! ;)
All in all, I will miss the little guy. It's those kitties with strong personalities that I will remember the most, and he will surely stay alive in everyone's memories. He even became an adjective to use with other cats:
"He was so angry!"
"How angry?"
"Maximus-angry!"
"Whoa."
I will also fondly remember him in the summer, lying outside and covered from top to bottom in dandelion seeds. So cute.
Maximus had a bit of a history; he will tolerate you around him, but he can lash out, out of insecurity. He doesn't like being pushed around and being told what to do, which proved to be extremely difficult every morning when we have to put the kitties outside to clean their enclosure. I don't think there's one caretaker who doesn't have a scar made by him.
I had several approaches to deal with him. One was to put his food outside and lock him out while he ate, but with the cold wet weather lately, it breaks my heart to do so and make him wait out there more than it is necessary.
My second approach was to chase him around with whatever object I could find LOL, a blanket or a basket, but he'd lash at it and I'd waste more time, get upset at him, and stress the cat out more than anything, so I opted for my third and final approach:
Leave him be.
This worked fine, except he wouldn't stay still all of he time, and sometimes he would climb down of his perch while I was cleaning, and due to the watery floor he had no grip to get back up. But there were times where he'd just sit there quietly, and watch me work, making sure I didn't get too close, or he'd lash at me. After we were done cleaning it was like a switch went off, he'd no longer be aggressive so I guess he knew once the floor had been dried he was safe from our "bullying" heheh.
So today I see that someone has adopted him. I'd have paid grand to see how they managed to stuff him into a travelling cage LOL! ;)
All in all, I will miss the little guy. It's those kitties with strong personalities that I will remember the most, and he will surely stay alive in everyone's memories. He even became an adjective to use with other cats:
"He was so angry!"
"How angry?"
"Maximus-angry!"
"Whoa."
I will also fondly remember him in the summer, lying outside and covered from top to bottom in dandelion seeds. So cute.