Library Bans Neighborhood Cat For Being A Friendly Nuisance

Curiosity didn’t kill the cat, but it did get him banned from the library.

Meet Max, a rescue cat from Minnesota, who lives across the street from Macalester College with his owner, Connie Lipton.

https://www.instagram.com/p/Bb4ez6tFoUL/?taken-by=cool_cat_max_and_gracie

Shortly after adopting Max from a shelter, Lipton allowed him to go on a daily walkabout. Naturally, Max found his way across the street to the college.

“He was just socializing with the students on the grounds,” Lipton told The Dodo. “He would go over there every day and spend quite a bit of time. It’s hard to know exactly. He usually would go out for a few hours at a time and then come home only to want to go back out again soon after.”

But pretty soon, Max’s pursuit of knowledge (or at least belly rubs) led to him to start sneaking into buildings on campus, particularly the library.

https://www.instagram.com/p/BcGjuYyF8Uv/?taken-by=cool_cat_max_and_gracie

Worried that Max might wind up trapped inside over the long winter break or get hurt by a construction project nearby, it was decided Max should not visit the school anymore. Corresponding signage was posted:

https://www.instagram.com/p/BcGQ6hSl3bQ/

The internet loves a good cause. The internet also loves cats. So of course, Max’s story went viral. The #FreeMax movement has resulted in fan art and all sorts of hair-brained schemes to get Max back into his beloved stacks:

https://www.instagram.com/p/BcGZHiflRQF/

But despite his legions of fans, Max remains grounded for now, much to his displeasure. But Lipton said she is working on a compromise.

“Max is very unhappy about not being able to roam and having to be grounded in the house,” Lipton told the Dodo. “He cries to go out and paces around the house. We are trying to give him some new ‘jobs’ by clicker-training him, and I’m hoping to get him trained to leash-walking. He’s very handsome in his red harness.”

Yes, yes he is.

https://www.instagram.com/p/BcNOHAjF6Fm/?taken-by=cool_cat_max_and_gracie

Max even had a recent visit with the college president, possibly to inquire about enrolling there. Hopefully Max will pay more attention in class than this cat.