Sam & Max - Cat Rescue Story

by Lori
(Ohio)

Sam & Max, were owned by an elderly woman who passed away, or so I was told by the APL when we adopted them. In their "cage" they laid head to tail in a circle form, almost comforting each other when I saw them. They were 8 years old, fixed and considered indoor/outdoor because they were found outside by the neighbor when she passed away. APL took them and put them up for adoption. In 2001 when we brought them home, they weren't real fond of kids, but eventually got used to us.

Sam was the wild one, always roaming the house, "checking the grounds". Max would only leave my room to use his liter box. His food was even kept in my room. Oh, yah, Max & Sam are twins, or so we were told. There was nothing in their appearance that could discern them, only their behaviors.

In 2002, my mother came to live with us, Sam got his wish and made it out of the house. It was my intention to keep them as indoor cats. Having children and carpet I did not want to deal with flea's or ticks. We have not seen Sam since. We miss him greatly and I'm sure someone found him and took him in. He was de-clawed and fixed. Max was a bit out of sorts for about a year but has been fine since. But, eventually, my mom moved out and asked if she could have Max. So he went with her to keep her company. During that time, he lost his hair at the top of his back near his tail because he could not reach it for he weighed almost 20 lbs. Last year, my mom moved in with us again, bringing my Max with her and we slowly got him moving around by introducing a new family member, Batman. Yes, this little kitten was crazy! He still is. He was under 6 wks when we found him. He was born outside and lost from his momma, so we nursed him and now he's a year old and soon to be fixed. ( Next week!) Having Batty around, Max lost weight being chased by the little guy. But about 6 months before Mom & Max moved in she told me he had been vomiting 2-3x's a day. After he eats or not. And just over the last 2 months, one of these little guys have been missing the liter box. There is no reason for it, after every use the box is emptied and fresh liter placed every 2 days. And either have been urinating in the kids rooms or Batty has been spraying. My mom has since moved out, I have kept Max, but I'm so utterly upset and afraid that he may be losing his control over his renal system and possibly unable to make it to the liter box, plus the vomiting. Is it time to put him down? He turned 17 yrs old last month. He is such a loving kitty. He loves to be hugged, you can pick him up like a baby and he'll wrap his big front legs around your neck and hug. It's killing me to think of losing him but I know it's inevitable.

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