The Cast of Creatures

Animals have always been an important part of my life and it's never been about "owning" them, they"ve always been part of the household.  Anyway, let me introduce the cast of characters.



MAX   Max looks pretty good for his age, he's fifteen and was rescued from the side of the road out in the boondocks by a man who was willing to interupt his day to rescue a very small kitten who would otherwise not survive long.  Max was probably 3 weeks old at the time.  Max is usually called "Little Max" (more on this later) but he's had many nicknames which include "Little Adolph", Mad Max", "Butt Head" and many others.  His nicknames may give some insight into his personality but I can assure you, he's headstrong... even for a cat.




BLACK MAX  The next Max to arrive was Black Max.  This cat was another rescue.  He's about two years older than Little Max so we think he's about 17 at this time so if he looks a little ragged, he is!  A friend of mine was working at a vet's office about 13 years ago and a woman brought this guy in to have him put down because he was tearing up the travel trailer that she lived in.  Apparently he didn't care for the close quarters with other cats and a very large dog (who also was taken to the vet to end his life of being a 'bother').  Anyway, the nearly doomed dog and this guy ended up at our neighbor's together and this guy was named Max by their little boy who thought Max was such a great cat name... just like Little Max.  But this guy didn't want to live with either the big dog or small children so he took off, lived in the woods across from our house and finally moved in with us so became "Black Max".  He's a big cat and might have a little bobcat blood, he certainly has the biggest teeth and claws I've ever seen on a domestic cat.

FRANK  The next cat to arrive was Blue Max, so named for his blue eyes.  Basically, he's called Frank (after ol' Blue Eyes, Frank Sinatra).  He doesn't sing but has become very good at asking for treats.  Frank showed up on Mother's Day 2010 and moved in.  He's still pretty skinny but he was really skinny then.  Frank has to live in the house but that's a story for another day.  Frank is a lover boy for sure and a real goof ball.  He's probably about 3 1/2 years old. 

MAXINE  The same summer that Blue Max/Frank arrived, a cat was discovered living over at The Shed.  It was very shy and initially, my husband tried to run it off,  He seemed to think we had enough cats.  Anyway, she survived on birds and so he started feeding her so she'd leave the birds alone.  She moved in officially and became "Maxine".  Maxine is very shy and so there is no picture of her.  She's still an outdoors sort of a girl but does enjoy the woodstove in the winter.  I'll try to get her to stop and pose for a picture.  She's a pretty one but you wouldn't want to be the mouse that catches her attention

.

MAGGIE  And now the last member of the cast of animals, Maggie.  Maggie is another rescue.  Back in 2002, my friend who worked for the vet, rescued Maggie and her litter-mates after her mother was shot.  Maggie was two weeks old at the time, she's Australian Shepherd and Border Collie but there might be another bit of something in her 'woodpile', at 75 pounds, she's quite big for either breed.  There will be many Maggie episodes to come. 



I can't imagine a house without animals.  They'll make you laugh and so much more.  Somewhere in Proverbs, there is a verse that says something like "a wise man cares for his animals".  We care for them.  They care for us.