el gato max

A pet was not on my radar.

In fact, it was Thanksgiving weekend and my first weekend as a single dad... my radar was pretty scrambled.  Jen had officially moved into her own place on Friday and it was Sunday of the same weekend.  The weather was mild and sunny and I decided the woods was where I should be.  I laced up the boots and went for a hike on the backside of the dam of a local reservoir.  

Alone with my thoughts, the solitude was suddenly interrupted by what sounded like a kitten.  I stopped and turned to, indeed, find an all-black kitten round the bend on my backtrail.  For nearly the next hour, the kitty was my constant companion, not leaving my side.

When I was ready to leave, the kitty continued to follow me to my car.  I went back into the woods, the kitty following.  Then I jogged out of the woods to my car, thinking I could sneak away.  As I reached the car... "meow!"  Like a shadow, the small kitty was just a few steps behind.

I was faced with a dilemma.  Did the kitty belong to someone?  The nearest homes were not visible, but not so far that it couldn't have wandered away.  Should I leave it so it can find it's way back to where it came from?  But what if it were a stray or abandoned?  It could get hit by a car if I drove off and left it near the road.  But, if it were a stray, I couldn't really keep it with two kids having allergies/asthma and a third kid whose excitability already necessitated rehoming a little dog.

I did not really want a cat.  Yet, part of me suddenly did.

A few friends, whom I had texted from the woods about my new hiking companion, seemed to think it was meant to be, since I was newly separated.  It was suggested I should keep the kitty and name it Shadow, since it followed me as though my shadow.

I sat in my car with the door open, debating what to do with my new friend.  The kitty looked at me as if to say, "won't you take me with you?"  I picked it up and drove "Shadow" home... temporarily.

With the exception of Zachary, the kids were excited about our new guest.  I reminded them that the kitty was, in fact, a guest until we found it's owner or found a good home.  The next day, The kids didn't have school, so Dylan and his girlfriend took Shadow to our local vet to see if the kitty was microchipped.  They told them it was not, and at quick glance it was a 3-4 month old girl who appeared to be in good health.

I put Shadow's picture on a couple of local facebook buy/sell/trade sites as a found kitten.  I also put her picture on a national lost and found pet website.  Nothing.  A few times, I drove through the residential streets nearest where I found her, looking for little kid's lost cat posters.  Nothing.  After several weeks, nobody had spoken for Shadow.

Shadow proved to be a pretty well behaved kitty and I started to like having her around... especially when the kids weren't here.  She seemed to have little negative impact on my allergy/asthma kids.  She was pretty patient with Ben's excitability and high activity levels.  And, she started to grow on even Zachary, who initially wasn't a fan.

After about a month and a half of "guest" status, I finally decided Shadow was here to stay and I scheduled an appointment with the vet for a checkup and shots... at which time I found out "she" was instead a neutered "he"!

Well, that messed me up.

For weeks Shadow had been a girl and I now had a hard time remembering she was a he.  The name worked for either gender, but Lily suggested we change his name.  She was never a fan of the name Shadow and suggested that a new name would help cement the new gender.  We tossed around several ideas, but we landed on Max (short for Maximus).  Since he is a boy, I often refer to him as El Gato... which sounds kinda cool for a sleek, black, panther-like cat.

Nope, a pet was not on my radar, but El Gato Max found and claimed me... and I kinda like having him around.

El Gato Max