Maximus: Peak Feline Energy

Today I want to write about an animal who was very dear to my heart, a lovely feline by the name of Maximus. I found him, you see, abandoned in a cardboard box on the side of the road one night when I was walking home from a friend’s house. My mum, of course, would never have let me adopt a pet randomly, but when I told her that I’d found him all alone in a box, left to die potentially, her heart melted and from then on he had a place in our home. I loved him, and he loved me, but I never could compete for his affections with my sister Jessika.

They bonded in a very exclusive way - in a way I’ve never before seen, as it happens - which I think had a lot to do with their similar personalities. My sister is a very smart woman, able to do practically anything she should put her mind to, and very driven - but not very sociable, and so generally somewhat of a solitary figure. Maxxy, on the other hand, was clever to the point of being cunning, and once he started to grow up he developed the personality of an outsider, one who stands apart from others of his species. One might almost have thought that he was royalty.

I didn’t actually want to name him Maximus - I thought the name was a bit cheesy - but before long he was definitively her cat, even though I had been the one to rescue him, and in the end her name for him stuck with the rest of our family, even myself (however begrudging that might have been!) Maximus, brave and strong, and oh-so strong-willed! When Jess moved away to attend University, Maxxy naturally went with her and I saw significantly less of him - that is, if we discount the numerous videos and pictures Jess would take of him and send around to the rest of our clan.

In a tragic turn of events, Maxxy passed away not even a week ago at the premature age of four years old due to a suspected snake bite. My sister, understandably, is heartbroken and in mourning - he was her closest friend and constant companion, and as you can see in the many pictures and clips I have attached of him, he was extremely affectionate with her, in a way that he rarely was with the rest of us. In fact, at time he could have quite a temper. But with her, he was the sweetest animal you’ve ever met, and she took unbelievably good care of him. She took him to the vet as soon as she noticed something was wrong, but they advised her that it was probably nothing and not to worry about it.

Suffice to say, they were wrong, and due to this flippancy on their behalf a wonderful soul is no longer with us today. He was not *my* furry co-worker, but he certainly was hers, and I thought I could do my bit to celebrate his memory by immortalising him in this piece of writing on her behalf - initially I asked her to contribute something in her own words, but she felt unable to do so, which is completely understandable. And so it falls to me to give you an idea of what he was like, and of the incredible impact he had on our family.

The valiant Maximus, greatest of all hunters, the perpetual protector and companion to my dear sister, felled by mankind's ancient enemy: he who eats dust at the bottom of the garden - the snake. If only the vets had taken his symptoms more seriously, this handsome little boy with a fuzzy little face would still be with us today, still be by my sister’s side day in and day out as she works harder than anyone I’ve ever met to ensure that she graduates her degree with nothing less than the best marks she could possibly achieve. This marks a stark contrast with me, who struggles to even get my assignments in on time…

She confided in me today that in the four days leading up to his death, she had spent three of them away from him, leaving him alone in the house (only returning to feed him before leaving again) so that she could focus on and complete her assignment on time. She figured out this afternoon that she'd actually made some major error on her assignment, which really upset her because she'd chosen not to spend those days with him thinking that she was earning something of value, but felt that she'd lost both the time with Maxxy and the grades. It only added insult to injury that her basic coping strategy was to reach for her furry workmate so he could comfort her, only when she went to reach for him today... well, only his ashes were there to touch.

I remember one time, when I was staying at my parents house in my home-town, when Maxxy was sick while Jess was away. I remember it clearly, and indeed will never forget it, because it was as if the long-since grown up boy had, in his state of illness, regressed to the state of just being a kitten. Where normally he would only accept affection if he had asked for it, all of a sudden he was grateful for my presence and affectionate in return, even though it was not something sought out by him. I stayed by his side while he was sick and when he was feeling better again, he created emotional distance again, as was his wont. But I will never forget the sweet innocence and vulnerability of that lovely animal as he snuggled closer to me those few long nights.

I hope that the picture I have painted for you of Maximus does him justice, though I am sure that it does not. I am glad that I tried though, because he was and always will be a creature that deserved to be remembered, and I know that in our family, he always will be. I know that for my sister, he was empawee of the month every single month of the year, and although his memory probably won’t win this challenge, if it did I have already pledged to give half of whatever prize I might win to her. It’s a poor compensation for her loss, but at least it might cheer her up to know that Maxxy’s memory is being kept alive by a thousand strangers who feel her pain. Plus, maybe once she's started to heal she could look at adopting another kitten, and I'm sure the money wouldn't go to waste in that regard!

He really was a sweetheart.