The story of my three-legged cat, Maximus

My 8 year old Maincoon kitten, Max was never meant to be part of my growing family of furry friends. He was the son of my first cat, Morgan and was just so adorable that I couldn’t even contemplate finding him a new home.

We’d spent two lovely years with Max as a companion before he went missing. Max has always loved his food, so when he didn’t come home for dinner we were understandably extremely concerned.

After a horrible two days of not seeing Max, he finally came home with horrific injuries to one of his back legs and in-between cries, we managed to rush him straight to the vets, where his leg had to be amputated in an effort to save his life, costing a whopping £800. Finally, after what felt like the longest week of my life, we were able to bring our pet home, however we were under huge stress from having to fork out such a lot of money at once. If we’d have had pet insurance, the financial stress would have been much less severe and it is something I regret to this day.

Thankfully, Max recovered well from his operation with lots of TLC (and tuna!) He spent 6 weeks inside the house under strict instruction from the vet and slowly began to learn how to manage with 3 legs. Throughout the whole process, he remained his happy and affectionate self, much to my surprise and within no time at all, Max’s 6 week recovery time had come to an end and I had to pluck up the courage to let him outside again. I was terrified – perhaps more so than him! At first, my previously outgoing kitten seemed afraid of the outside world, but thankfully, after a few weeks he was back to his old self again.

To this day, we still have concerned neighbours approach us and warn that my cat has a limp. Some of the responses still make me chuckle - ‘he runs so fast for a disabled cat’ and my personal favourite, ‘oh, now I feel awful! Boy, can he run though’. No one can quite believe his speediness, especially when food is involved!

I am so happy that I was able to pay for Max’s operation. The last thing you want to think about is anything bad happening to your family pet. However, I can’t even imagine what I would have done if I couldn’t have covered Max’s vet’s bill – he wouldn’t have been able to have his operation. You have to think about the unexpected when owning a cat. It’s more than just a few cuddles on the sofa now and then and the unexpected mouse on your doormat when they’ve been out for a hunt and want to bring you a gift. They really are an important member of the family, and any owner should look after them as if they are just that.

Max’s interesting facts:

1. He will nibble your ankles whilst you’re cooking dinner if you haven’t fed him first.

2. Max’s favourite place to nap is on my German Shepard’s memory foam mattress (she has bad arthritis) – not that Max cares. 

3. He will play and pounce on your toes if you leave them poking out of the covers in the early hours of the morning until you feed him.