Max the Neighborhood Cat

I can’t remember quite when Max appeared in the neighborhood.

One day we realized that this huge caramel tabby, who looked a bit like a wild Pallas cat, expected to come into our house, nap in our cats’ beds, eat our cats’ cat food, and add our house to the several houses in the neighborhood that he visited on his daily patrol. He had a house where he usually slept at night, but he spent most of his time sitting on their front lawn, waiting for someone to walk out a door or pull up in a car so he could greet them.

The Mystery of Max

Many years later, our neighbor Justin told us this story about Max’s origins:

Justin’s parents had separated, his mom staying in the family house across the street from us and his father moving to another, nearby, neighborhood. While visiting his dad, Justin encountered Max, who wandered from house to house getting fed. Justin was pretty sure he remember Max as a kitten he’d had who had disappeared. So…Justin brought Max home to our neighborhood.

I suspect this was a well-intentioned kidnapping, but Justin insisted that Max was his kitten, grown up. At any rate, the relocated Max was perfectly happy to resume his peripatetic ways on our quiet dead-end street.

He trained one household to let him nap in their basement. At another house, he followed them inside when they got home from work, and was given cheese treats. At our house, he completely made himself at home, often sleeping in a cat bed in our front window, where he could watch the street to see if anyone was arriving home and might want to pet him or let him in. Our cats happily accepted him.

When Justin’s mom decided to retire to Edmonds and sell their house, they realized not only that Max would be disoriented by the move, but that Edmonds prohibited outdoor cats. Thus, Max moved into our house on a permanent basis, taking up residence in a cat bed in the front window where he could easily keep an eye on the neighborhood.

Max went wild over contractors. No matter how loud the mower, the saw, or the generator, Max would be sitting right there at the contractor’s side, supervising. I once wrote a humor column about how to select a contractor. Bids, of course, are important but we didn’t select anyone unless Max turned up and sat through the bid presentation.

Of all the contractors, Max’s favorite was JD, our flooring contractor. JD, a cat owner himself, always shared his fried chicken lunches with Max.

Not all our contractors appreciated Max’s involvement. When we had our driveway expanded, the concrete contractor, quite an artiste, carefully brushed the concrete and returned an hour later to discover Max had walked through it. He brushed it again and—the mind boggles—put up yellow “crime scene” tape and left again. Max, of course, went right under the tape and walked through the concrete. The paw prints dried overnight.

The next day we had to explain to the horrified contractor that we loved having Max’s prints in the concrete. (And, indeed, those little prints were a tremendous comfort to us after Max, having made it to age 18, died.)

Max was a very quiet cat, and this presented a problem. He tended to get locked in people’s garages, and, no matter how much you called to him, he wouldn’t meow back. So a few days later, the people would get home from their weekend vacation, open the garage doors, and Max would explode out of the garage, looking really irate.

2013 – We Meet Max

Nov. 8, 2013—Max appears in our yard and expects to be let in.

2014

April 12, 2014—”Let me in.”

April 18, 2014—A Facebook post from April 18, 2014 shows that Max was settling in:

“My one disappointment with my Honda Fit is the black plush upholstery, which seems to attract lint and cat hair. I was driving a colleague to a client meeting today, so got up early to clean the front seats with a vacuum, sponge, and lint roller. I left the car doors open so the seats would dry. They did, but when I came out to drive to the interview, dressed in my best black pantsuit, I found Max curled up in the driver’s seat. Shedding.”

August 24, 2014—Lazing on the lawn with Max:

Oct 6, 2014—We got Max, the neighborhood cat, microchipped this afternoon and he didn’t maim anyone at the veterinarian’s in the process — it just sounded like it from the waiting area. Max also got tested for FLV (negative) and then vaccinated for all sorts of things. Amazingly, he blames it all on the vet and still loves us. Or at least still loves the cat food we serve.

2015 – Look for Max

June 6, 2015—One of the first of Max’s terrifying disappearances:

“The neighborhood cat, Max, has not been seen since early this a.m. when his family let him out. Hoping that he is simply locked in someone’s garage. But I’m worried because there is a coyote in the neighborhood and several cats have gone missing in the past few weeks. I went for a walk this evening and two neighbors told me that have seen the coyote.”

Max appeared at 10 a.m., looking grouchy. We suspect he was locked in someone’s garage or basement.

Sept. 7, 2015—”My owners fixed the heater!”

2016

March 26, 2016—An early spring. Max sits under his favorite Japanese maple.

July 16, 2016—Max naps while I garden:

2017

June 14, 2017—One minute after the new sleep sofa was delivered Max was doing quality control.

2019

April 23, 2019—Max is not a fan of trips to the vet.

August 7, 2019—We removed the snail before we let Max in:

August 29, 2019—The UPS guy scared off the other cats, so make has the front lawn to himself. Which is how he likes it:

2020

March 9, 2020—A Moment of Max:

March 17, 2020—A Moment of Max. Soundtrack: Loud purring.:

April 16, 2020—A moment of Max. On my desk. He was having a far more serene moment than I was.

June 28, 2020—Oy, Max (the cat). Just as we finished the anti-inflammatories and painkillers for his dental surgery, he is showing signs of infection. And of course, it’s Sunday. We called the emergency clinic and they said it was safe to wait 24 hours to take him in to our regular vet tomorrow — he’s eating well, and is not too uncomfortable. But…yecch. And I feel bad for him.

UPDATE: The vet called in a prescription to Bartell and Max is now taking antibiotics, plus has a checkup set for tomorrow to find out more about what’s wrong.

August 21, 2020—Max likes his new elevated dish for wet food (by Necoichi). He doesn’t push food on the floor anymore. And the raised water bowl is great, too. Zoe also got raised bowls — they both have some arthritis issues.

Dec. 1, 2020—Max is guarding his giant new catnip mouse made by Ocheltree Design (an Etsy shop). Their mice are made from soft, thick re-purposed suede and stuffed with fresh catnip. If your cat manages to open one, they will replace it!

2022

Feb. 22, 2022—Max went to his grooming appointment with Alex the Cat Groomer. Alex has closed his Shoreline satellite, is building a new place in Bothell, but is currently working out of his old Woodinville office. So that was a schlep, but Max did just fine, listening to audiobooks with me on the ride. Now he is marvelously fluffy, mat-free, and cheerful. Max is a bit forgetful these days (he’s also 17) but gets around surprisingly well and never misses a meal. Unfortunately, he thinks the new cat water fountain is a footbath.