Majmun
Majmun is Majka’s son and, while her behavior was exactly what you’d expect from a feral cat, his has always been the complete opposite. As you know from Majka’s story, they were all starving and not in great shape. Majmun had one eye swollen shut with conjunctivitis, he was smaller than his brother & he sneezed a lot. Luckily, he had a very healthy appetite (cats with respiratory problems will stop eating if they’ve gotten to the point that they can no longer smell the food) and was immediately aware that we were the ones responsible for his feasting, making him very interested in us. There is no way he’d ever had previous contact with people. The area where we found them is extremely isolated and, when asked, the few neighbors that they might have been able to reach, had never seen any of them. However, Majmun wanted to walk up to us from day one - despite Majka’s frantic efforts to keep him away from us, he snuck off while the others were eating to come have a closer look. The second time we saw him, he actually came to find us (with his mother and brother lurking behind) - chirping to get our attention, tail straight up in the air with excitement to see us. Majka was, again, yelling at him, trying to get him back into her protection zone - but, he obviously didn’t care. He’d seen all he needed to see - people had food - he was hungry and food was good - so, people seemed like a great idea to him...about an hour later, he had jumped into our executive directors lap - purring - and had made the decision that he was a domesticated cat now. We were too stunned to argue. Step one for any of our animals is always to get them healthy and to keep everyone safe. So, we quarantined him in a big, comfy crate overnight, in a separate room, away from the other cats and took him to the vet the next morning. They were also impressed with his personality and he never gave them a moment of trouble either. He tested negative for feline leukemia, FIV and his sneezing was likely viral as he had no other signs of infection. He had gi issues but, that was explained by fairly extreme internal parasites. He was thought to be about 8 weeks old. Along with the deworming and eye medicines - at the vets suggestion, we put him on an L-Lysine supplement and probiotics to help boost his immune system. Majmun has enthusiastically participated in his recovery and remains the most accommodating, jovial little guy around. He was fantastic patient for all of his treatments and his overall condition has improved exponentially. He immediately became friends with all of the other house cats and he’s always purring or playing (or both) - he quickly learned his name, comes when he’s called, follows us everywhere - he even understood the litter box without being shown. He was delighted with his life for months - but, now that his whole family is reunited, he’s even happier. He likes showing them how to enjoy all of his favorite parts of being an indoor cat - toys, training people to do what you want, the best window spots to nap - he’s been an amazing liaison in helping them acclimate. The three of them often sleep cuddled up together and, while cats aren’t supposed to remember each other after being separated for a few months, these three clearly do and it couldn’t be more heartwarming to watch. Ferals can be extraordinary pets and Majmun really opened our eyes to the fact that some aren’t ever interested in being wild. He saw his opportunity and went for it - and, in his own way, he also helped to save his family. We’re all so glad that they were able to safely find their way back to each other.
