A cat named Maxwell

I’ve written before about my unfortunate rat problem that gave me serious insomnia and anxiety during my first few weeks here. The natural solution to a rat problem is to get a cat, of course, and most of the volunteers here in the Sud Est are cat owners for that very reason. So after waiting a few weeks to make sure I was settled in at home, in late May I decided it was time to become a cat owner. And that’s how Maxwell made her way into my life.

When I told one of my TIAVO coworkers that I needed a cat, she helped me out by going to the market to buy one for me. So I arrived at the office one Tuesday morning to find a tiny, frightened, and rather dirty orange tabby kitten tied up to a chair. I put her in a box and hurried home, wrestling the entire 20 minute walk with a squirming kitten constantly trying to escape. When I got her home I tied her to my bedpost, gave her a little food and water, and sat on my bed to watch her figure out her new surroundings. I put some music on from my iTunes, and the album that happened to pop up first was “Abbey Road”.  After a few minutes I went over to her to see if she’d warm up to me, and sure enough, she let me hold her and put her on my lap. She started purring after another few minutes, and because the song that was playing when she started purring was ‘Maxwell’s Silver Hammer’, I decided to name her Maxwell. Of course, at this point she was still tiny enough that it was impossible to tell if she was a girl or a boy—and Maxwell is not exactly a girlish name (despite what Jessica Simpson apparently named her new baby.) But, by the time we figured out she was a girl, she already knew and responded to her name. So, I decided to keep it.

Maxwell on the move.

On that first day I enlisted a friend to help me give her a bath (that was an ordeal), and after about 5 days I let her roam around my house untethered, before finally letting her outside after I’d had her about 2 weeks (to make sure she knew this was her home, and wouldn’t run away.) However, the poor thing was pretty sick: on her second night at my house, I discovered that she had a tapeworm—this explained why she was so tiny and sickly. I ran to the vet the next day to get deworming pills, and since then I’ve dealt with 2 more tapeworms, ahem, coming out, but at this point I think they’re finally gone. She’s grown a lot and finally put on some weight, and generally seems to be really enjoying life. I had my landlord cut a little cat door in my front door so she can come and go. I sometimes wonder if she realizes how lucky she is that I bought her, because Malagasy people don’t dote on their pets quite like Americans do. I will fully admit: my cat is spoiled. I cook her fish with rice every day (because "cat food" doesn't exist here), or give her my leftovers, so she is well fed. Although I don’t let her sleep on my bed, I bought her a big oval basket and put some foam pieces in it to make her her own bed, which is next to mine. I do, however, let her get on the bed for a morning snuggle first thing when I wake up (when I’m awake but still not ready to get out of bed and start the day.) I mean, how can you resist a cute, purring kitten that just wants to cuddle up with you? Her favorite position is to sit on my left shoulder when I'm lying on my back. The first day I got her I was lying in bed watching a movie, and she managed to jump up there and sit this way. I think it's because she was taken from her mom really young, and she wanted a heartbeat to be close to. Even though she's gotten bigger, she still loves to sit this way, and I think it's because she sees me as a mother.

Max has definitely earned her keep, though, so I feel she deserves rewards. Since her arrival I have not heard the army of rats in my ceiling (knocking on wood a thousand times!) and nights have been blissfully quiet. I think the combination of her constant meowing during her first few weeks here, with the special poison my landlord put in the ceiling, has hopefully made the rats realize that this is an inhospitable place for them. I don’t think she’s killed a rat yet, since she is still pretty small, but her presence just makes me feel more protected against them. And of course, the other benefit is having a cute, furry little companion at home. She is very clingy and always wants attention, which can be really annoying, but overall she is just so darn cute, and I love her to death. (I’ll post pics when I get on wi-fi in a few weeks.) Who needs YouTube when you can watch a kitten chasing a butterfly in your own backyard? And really, is there any better way to pass a rainy Saturday afternoon than watching TV in bed, with a snoozing kitten curled up in the crook of your elbow?

Max just jumped up on my lap after returning from exploring outdoors, and as usual she is purring away. I already don’t know how I am going to leave her when I go home in 2014. I think I may need to bring her back with me!