AUBURN — Elmer Whiting was used to stray cats showing up at his door, abandoned by owners who dropped them off at his farm and never looked back. They were all perfectly nice cats, and Whiting is something of a cat person, but he never got attached to the strays that came and went.

Then came Rufus.

“He was special,” Whiting said.

More than a dozen years after he first set paw on Whiting Farm, the fluffy, friendly Maine coon cat is still there, holding court in the No. 4 greenhouse, where he is fawned over by customers, workers and Whiting alike. It’s his home both permanently and legally — Rufus was written into the contract when Whiting sold his farm to John F. Murphy Homes in 2014.

“There was no negotiating. This is his home,” said Farm Director Kim Finnerty.

Whiting can’t remember exactly when Rufus showed up at the farm stand down the street from his farm, but he remembers it was summer and Rufus stood out from the “plain old cats” he normally saw. Declawed and neutered, Rufus had obviously been a family pet. He was confident, social. He loved to be petted and was happy to be the center of attention. 

“He liked to lay on the cash,” Whiting said.

Whiting put an ad in the lost-and-found section of the paper. Surely someone was missing this cat.

There was no response.

Fall came and Whiting’s farm stand closed. As the weather turned cold, Rufus meandered over to the farm and asked to be let into the warm, plant-filled greenhouse. 

“He’s been here ever since,” Whiting said.

Rufus became the farm’s greeter, meeting customers when they dropped by to buy eggs or look over plants. Although Rufus could roam around the farm, he always went back to his greenhouse. Emphasis on “his.”

“He’s very territorial. Anybody who comes and brings in a dog, he’ll stare that dog down,” Whiting said. “I see the damn fool staring down a big German shepherd one day.”

Who won?

“He did,” Whiting said proudly.

However, Rufus learned not to try that in someone else’s home. He once discovered the cat door at Whiting’s farmhouse and wandered inside, but Whiting’s three other cats were not impressed. After a fight, Rufus retreated to his greenhouse.

Now an elderly cat — the vet puts him at about 15 — Rufus spends all his time in the greenhouse, where he likes to stroll through the plants, tail swishing in the leaves. He naps wherever he pleases — sometimes shunning his two cat beds and favorite box for someplace more exotic.

“When we’re propagating seed, his favorite thing is to lay in the germinating chamber where it’s nice and warm, make a mess in there with his hair and walking all over the plants,” Whiting said.

Once a great mouser, Rufus has also mellowed with age. The farm’s free-range chickens have taken to following him around when he leaves the greenhouse and the mice haven’t been fearful for a while.

“He’s retired now. He’ll just share the food with the mice rather than chasing them,” Finnerty said.

Rufus’ care officially falls to John F. Murphy Homes, an Auburn-based nonprofit that serves people with developmental disabilities. As per the terms of the farm’s sale, Rufus must be allowed to stay in his greenhouse.

Finnerty, the farm’s other workers and kids from the nonprofit’s Margaret Murphy Centers for Children make sure he has fresh food and water every day. The kids also make sure he gets enough attention.

Whiting still stops by to see him every day, too.

“He’s so easy to get along with,” Whiting said. “So lovable.”

Have an idea for Animal Tales? Call Lindsay Tice at 689-2854 or email her at ltice@sunjournal.com.

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