Pierre had just come home from supper with friends when he heard quite a commotion coming from the parking lot of his condominium.
Curious and somewhat alarmed, Pierre went to investigate and found that the commotion was caused by a couple of cats and a few kittens that were fighting – for dear life, it seemed.
“I noticed a male cat had turned its claws on the other neighbourhood cats and began killing kittens,” recalls Pierre.
“I went towards them and managed to shoo the manic male cat away. Sadly, only one kitten remained alive out of the whole litter.”
The sole survivor’s desperate and scared meows tugged at Pierre’s heartstrings, and without a second thought, Pierre immediately gathered the ginger cat into his arms and decided to save it and give it a fur-ever home.
The ginger male cat was then christened ‘Toby’, and Pierre slowly discovered that Toby grew up with some very peculiar quirks – one being a very strange potty habit.
Despite Pierre trying his best to potty train Toby, the Maine Coon mix was simply not having it.
And so, after much observation and failed potty-training missions, Pierre had come to the conclusion that Toby is indeed a germaphobe and is easily disgusted by the sight of his own faeces and urine!
“After going about his business at the kitty litter, you can literally see him cringe and shrivel up at the sight of his own mess, and he will start running around like a mad man! His face changes and he looks positively panicked” laughs Pierre.
However, it is for this reason too that Toby chooses not to bury his own mess, leaving it out in the open for everyone else in the house to see and sniff and at times, bury it on his behalf.
“Sometimes, you’ll even see him get into weird positions at the kitty litter simply because he does not want his paws or hind legs to be anywhere near his mess,” elaborates Pierre.
Toby also loved going out for a stroll – do bear in mind that the keyword here is “loved”, and Pierre explains why this is the case.
“He used to disappear sometimes when I left the door open, and I assumed it was to check out other things on the same floor,” he says.
“But things changed when he got into the wrong house. I had to look for him for hours until I heard him meowing so loud that the sound travelled several floors.”
According to Pierre, he found Toby locked away in a neighbour’s house, and after explaining to said neighbour that Toby was indeed his lost cat, the reunion was quite a strange but funny one.
“Once I carried him, he started ‘complaining’ non-stop in cat language, until we got home. The right home, this time,” says Pierre. “Until today, Toby dares not leave the house for his usual strolls. He’ll have his eye on the door but he won’t go anywhere near it.”
Aside from his repulsion towards the kitty litter and getting into the wrong houses, Toby has a weakness for a cat treat called Temptations.
Just a little shake of the packet is enough to summon this very large house cat into coming out from his usual hiding spot in the storage room.
Toby also prefers wet food to dry, and no matter what he’s being served for the day, he insists on getting hand-fed. Otherwise, you’ll be hard-pressed to find him having his meals at all!
Toby is clearly one-of-a-kind, and patient owner Pierre is aware of all his idiosyncrasies but wouldn’t have him any other way.
When asked about what he loves the most about Toby, Pierre laughingly says, “Being a Maine Coon mix, Toby is pretty big and cuddly. Some people have even said that he looks scary.
“But to be honest, he’s quite a scaredy-cat and a very dim one at that! That’s what makes him so lovable and funny.”
TELL US ABOUT YOUR PET: FMT Lifestyle readers are invited to send in pictures (landscape format) and a short video (if any) of their furry, scaly or feathery friends to [email protected]. Don’t forget to include details like your pet’s name, age, breed and a short story about them.