The Humanization of Max: The Power of Patience

They say cats have nine lives. If so, Max is on his third.

His first was spent roaming the streets outside of Princeton. Animal Control found him at an apartment complex foraging for food and took him to a local no-kill shelter when he was only 12 weeks old.

His next "life" lasted a full year and was spent in a cage with limited freedom to wander the small room that housed male cats. The shelter named him "Venice."  

Max never forgot the outside world, and his favorite perching spot was atop the stacked cages where he could see the surrounding woods through a small window. He even managed to open one ceiling panel, climb into the crawl space, and fall through another ceiling, landing on the desk of a very surprised receptionist.  

Volunteers spent many hours trying to pet Max so he would get used to human touch. The shelter tried twice to provide outside foster care to socialize him so that he could be more readily adopted, but these efforts were not successful.

Faced with competition from kittens and other more friendly cats, Max was continually passed over by prospective pet owners. I'm sure it was off-putting that the shelter described him as semi-feral, making it clear to everyone that he was not likely to become a lap cat.

A Fateful Meeting

I'm not sure what drew my daughter to Max, but they made an instant connection.

Kate had asked the shelter to show her a "hard to place" cat and was quickly referred to Max. When she approached his cage, Max got frightened and backed into a corner. She started talking softly to him and let him sniff her hand. 

I walked away and spent the next half hour playing with female kittens in another room. When I returned, Kate and Max were still quietly evaluating each other. 

We went back several times to visit Max, but I think Kate fell in love with him on that first visit. He gradually let her lightly touch him, though he wouldn't give me the same privilege. The long-time volunteer who had been trying to socialize him assured us of her deep belief that he was really a great cat and just needed a chance. 

In April 2008, Kate formally adopted Max, and he began his third "life," having the run of a three-story townhouse in South Brunswick.

Coming Home

The shelter volunteer had a hard time catching Max, and he definitely did not like the small carrier or the ride home. As soon as he was free, he raced upstairs and found a place to hide. If it weren't for the fact that his food dish would empty and the litter box would fill, no one would have known Max was around for the next three weeks.

Why Litter Box Covers Are a Good Idea | amengjia.com

Litter box covers are generally a good idea, on account of several reasons:

1) Concealment. Let’s face it. Nobody wants to see poop, especially while they’re eating! The main purpose of a litter box cover is to hide the appearance of a litter box, especially the poop and urine in it.

2) Hygiene. It is simply unhygienic to have poop lying around one’s house. Even if this poop is not human poop, it is likewise as gross. However, in having a litter box cover, you will be able to hide the appearance of cat poop.

3) Odor control. While it serves to visually hide the appearance of cat feces, litter box covers also serve to quell the odor of cat feces and urine, making it multi-purpose and truly useful.

4) Design. Finally, another great thing about a litter box cover is that it can enhance the design of your living room – just see to it that you choose the design that agrees with your interior decoration.

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