Maxwell:
My first Kitty :-)
I promised myself that when I got my first cat, I wouldn't put up one of those sappy 'I Wuv My Widdle Kitty' webpages. However, I never promised that I wouldn't put together some sort of page with info and pictures. And since my family and friends outside of blacksburg haven't all seen my baby, well then, there's a point to this madness, isn't there?! Some of the pics here are in 'thumbnail' format, so you may need to click on them to see the bigger pictures.
 
 
Taking in a Stray:
I'd seen a cat hanging around the steps to my apartment building for three days before I finally got a good look at him. It was during a thunderstorm and he was meowing so pitifully. I came out of my apartment to find him huddled between the door and the wall. I sat down and held my hand out and he jumped up on the step next to me, then in my lap, rubbing against me. I dashed in to call my boyfriend and when he came over, the cat had dissapeared. Later that night, my neighbor Nathan and his girlfriend found the cat and I was selected to take it in temporarily. So make-shift litterbox and bowls were made. We also took digital photos and put up flyers all around town several times, called the Humaine Society, and all that. Here are the photos:
   
 
 
Naming the Kitty:
I hesitated to name the little guy until I knew for sure I would keep him. I didn't want to get too attached. I just called him Kitty. And at first we thought he was a girl...but my boyfriend was quick to point out that his Isabelle did not have the same sort of anatomy. But 10 days came and went.. and no one phoned me. I did get a call on day 12 but it was for a cat with white paws and white on his belly.. and that was not this kitty. So, he was mine! I decided on naming him either Padraig or Maxwell.

Padraig

Maxwell

Nicknames: Paddy, Patrick Max, Maxie, Maxamillion,
Meaning: (Irish) Noble (he is very much that!) Place of the well (water reference in a cat name?)
Namesake: Padraig Pearse, one of Ireland's most amazing revoluntionary heroes, was the brains behind the Easter 1916 rebellion and was sacrificed to the cause. Was a poet, a writer, an artist, an editor of a bilingual periodical, a public speaker, a teacher, a founder of the first bilingual learning institution, a son, an older brother, a figurehead, a member of the working class, and a dreamer Maxwell Deamon, space-age rock persona of Brian Slade, a character in the movie 'Velvet Goldmine' about the glam rock era. Character is tarted up then drags all who knew him (including Brian) tumbling, crashing down.
Popularity: Rare Most popular cat name in America (2nd most popular in Australia)
Cute association: Padfoot is the name of the "dog" in Harry Potter. So Paddy would be the name of a cat Maxwell Smart
I eventually told the vet Padraig... then changed it at the first visit to Maxwell, and he's been my Maxie-boy ever since!
 
 
Maxwell Playing:
His favorite toy is a little gray and white mouse made of rabbit fur (had I known it was real fur, I wouldn't have bought it). He adores it. There is another without its tail, and 3 green ones identical in shape and size, but he liked the gray one the best. As a kitten, he likes pretty much anything that moves, espeically balls with bells and pens. My favorite game to play with him is fetch. He'll bring me his mouse and I'll throw it across the apartment. He runs, picks it up in his mouth, and runs back to me, putting it at my feet to throw again. He once kept this up for over 45 minutes before he got tired. Usually, though, he'll just play with the mice by himself- throwing them up into the air and batting them around. They almost always get stuck under the stair-step exercise thingy.
      
From top/right to bottom/left... (1) He's a Hokie kitty, but his scratching post, disk, and ball are all orange and blue. (2) Playing with a mousey (3) Playing with another ball under the table. He loves playing around chairs so he can hide behind the legs. (4) Getting ready to pounce on his food! It won't see him coming from inside his box!
 
 
Maxwell Sleeping
Cats, like men, are the cutest when they sleep. And my kitty is no exception!
    
 
 
Maxwell Being Maxwell
ie, other pictures of him goofing off, being cute, being frisky, etc :-)
Ready to pounce!
 
He was sooo skinny when I first got him. A huge change from growing up with LikLik! But he eats nonstop and is gaining some weight. He's still got some growing to do yet, too.
 
Can you find the kitty? One of Max's favorite things to play with are the big banners my best friends made for my birthday. He loves putting mice in under them, pouncing on top, ducking below.
 
Maybe she won't see me if I blend in with the white and blue of the bathroom? Meow?
 
All in all, he's my baby, and my sweetie and my love. I feel very happy to have him share my apartment and life with me, and I hope I can make him as happy as he makes me. And in closing, he just jumped into my lap while I was typing :-)