Lynes

* 09.09.1999
As we say in Germany: "thoroughbred crossroad-breeding"
Mother: lost / Father: unknown
Pedigree: not available
Rating: especially valuable
Hobbies: hunting, Maine Coons
Preferences: French fries and barbecue sausages

The history of his life-
or from TV-star to lover of Maine Coons !


Prehistory

Our Lynes was kept wildly with his sister and they were both presented in the German TV channel WDR at the programme "Tiere suchen ein zu Hause" (can be translated as "Animals seeking for a home"). The both of them moved in a household with children. But only a few months later our Lynes was given back, because he supposedly did not get along with his sister. Simultaneously we decided to share our new house and garden with a cat. For me only one thing was important: it had to be a tom-cat patterned like a tiger. So my husband began his search. It seemed at that time patterned tom-cats were rare. Finally he made a find in a private organization.

How we found our Lynes

On our way to that place we thought about a name for our future member of the family and agreed with the name Lynes. There the animal-keeper showed us a room with ten poor creatures and introduced us to a patterned tom-cat with the words:"… and that's our Lynes!" Could it be true? He had already the name, which we would have chosen for him. He looked terribly, but that did not matter!

Destiny or in Latin: "Nomen est omen!"

Finally Lynes has arrived at home

So we picked our poor, emaciated tom-cat Lynes on December 26, 2000. He had ear-mites and walked with a limb.
His second name was "extremely shy". From time to time - especially when visitors dropped in - Lynes lived in a freezing compartment of a thrown out refrigerator in our home economics room

It took us more than three months that we were allowed to touch him for the first time. Another two weeks later we let him into the garden for the first time. Lynes blossomed out more and more and even gained weight. He did not shrink from us anymore. But he stayed invisible to other people and mainly children. During that time only very few people had ever set eyes on him.

And so free from care Lynes enjoyed his life… on the sofa or in bed.


With the years even the limping leg got better. That his injury is related to his dislike for children…, we will never find out.

The sociable site of our Lynes

We quickly realized that one cat was not enough and I had my eye on Maine Coons for a long time already. But Lynes - what would he say?
More than two years passed as we dared to make an attempt. On May 2003 our little Maine Coon girlie Kiwi moved in and…

… nothing happened, almost nothing. He ignored her, she surrounded him. After one week she had him, the ice was broken. From that day on they were fellows for life. When Lynes returns from his extended walks outside, the joy is tremendous. So our tigers lie in bed peacefully next to each other and have a littler nap.

And in addition

Since we have our Maine Coons, Lynes has become visible for all our visitors and is even now willing to let somebody else stroke or feed him.
He learned as well that he could drink water from a bowl and did not have to go to our pond in ice-cold winters.

Live according to the maxim:
What is not bad for the Coonies,
can also not be bad for me!!!
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