History: Max’s owners brought him to Turpentine Creek on August 31, 1996. He had lived in their house as a pet. In the summer of 1996, they moved from Alabama to Pilot Mound, IA. However, their new town didn’t allow people to own wild cats, so Max’s owners decided to give him up. We took Max on a temporary basis of 6 months until the owners could find another place to live and still keep the cougar. They still live at the same place so Max is with us to stay.

Personal: When Max came to live with us, he stayed in a cage on the front porch of Don and Hilda. He is a very gentle cat. He has been featured as a star in a commercial for Putnam Lincoln Mercury out of Ft. Smith. He can still be handled with a leash. Once he escaped by slipping past Don when he was going in with him. He took off, chasing a dog. The dog ran into the woods with Max right behind him and Robert right behind Max. Once Max got into the woods and could not see anyone, he got scared and stopped in his tracks. Robert walked up to him and got his leash and led him back to his cage. He was one happy cat to get home.