My story about maček (cat) Maks starts in the early spring of 2018. Suddenly, a black and white tomcat walks around on our terrace. I don’t know this cat, so I don’t know where it belongs. He is also there the next day and the third day as well. I’m starting to worry because he’s going to have to eat sometime. Because we already have two cats at our house, I know that Bine won’t be happy if a third one joins us, but since I’m a huge animal lover I can’t bear to see the poor animal bivouac on our terrace for days without food. So I give him some kibble…

The cat is a bit shy but can be petted. It turns out to be a calm, sweet, somewhat »sluggish« cat, and he just won’t leave. However, Bine absolutely does not want him to come inside, so Maks, as we call him, stays outside on the terrace. He really doesn’t go anywhere else. Walks around every now and then but always stays close to our house. He likes to get attention and is happy when I come out and pet him. But because it’s cold outside, we’re all mainly inside and poor Maks sits all day long in front of the sliding door, looking inside.

Now the annoying thing is that Maks thinks he’s in charge out there and therefore keeps attacking our two cats Gypsy and Cheetah whenever he sees them outside. Those two hardly dare to go outside anymore. I have to keep looking where Maks is and then let our other cats out on the other side of the house so that Maks doesn’t see them. Not fun for Gypsy and Cheetah of course.

A few months later we are sitting on the terrace and the neighbor from behind pops in. We happen to come upon the story of Maks and guess what? The cat was theirs. He recognizes Maks immediately. Luckily they had him neutered, but apparently, he decided to go search for another place to stay. The thing is, Maks appeared to suffer from bladder stones. Later that spring, I noticed that he could not urinate. He kept going everywhere, but nothing came out. I had to take him to the vet twice to empty his bladder. He was given special food that prevents the formation of bladder stones and that indeed helped because he has no longer suffered from it. However, the food costs €17.50 per bag and lasts for about a month, and I’m sure the neighbor wouldn’t have wanted to buy it. The question is whether he would have taken him to the vet in the first place. Good chance that if Maks had stayed with them, he would have died a very painful death. Because if he can’t empty his bladder himself and nothing is done about it, that bladder will burst at some point. Maybe he sensed that and that’s why he came to me :).

Later we made a cat door in the boiler room and put Maks’ food there, so he can sleep there in the winter. We put a box with a blanket in it, and he likes that because it’s always warm in there.

Unfortunately, the problem remains that he absolutely does not tolerate other cats in his »territory«. He has already fought with tomcats from the neighborhood who were walking around here several times and also suffered a serious wound twice. The one time it was so bad that he had to be stitched. In addition, I also find it very sad that he gets far too little attention in the winter because he is not allowed in the house. Even if we would leave him inside, he would fight the other cats, so it wouldn’t work. But he really prefers to lie next to you on the couch and be petted. The best thing would actually be that we could find another, wonderful, home for him, but I find it very difficult to get rid of him. I immediately feel guilty just thinking about it. And what if something happens when he goes somewhere else? Then I would continue to feel an even greater sense of guilt! That sweet Maks deserves much more attention and hugs, and Gypsy and Cheetah want to be able to go outside undisturbed without fear of being attacked. So it’s quite a dilemma. If anyone has any tips or ideas, I’d love to hear them. Lots of love from me and Max! 🙂