My daughter and her then boyfriend picked him up from the shelter while she was in college. My daughter will go into the Animal Shelter, and instead of coming out with a healthy baby animal, she will bring the sickest one she can find. She set her sights on Sammy and brought him home. This was about 5 years ago, when she picked him from the shelter, they told her that he was previously adopted but the owners brought him back because he was sick. Sammy is severely allergic to fleas, and he was infested with fleas at the time. He was so allergic he began to scratch himself raw and was covered in scabs, "scabby cat disease" they called it when she took him to the vet. He was losing a lot of hair where his scabs were. He was also drinking an absurd amount of water, so she had him tested for diabetes. Luckily, he was not diabetic. He was put on a diet and he began to lose weight. He was given pills and steroids and soon his scabs started to heal and his hair started growing back. Soon after, we found he had a tape worm and had him treated for that.
Sammy was a gift from my daughter's boyfriend at the time, and when they broke up, since he was so attached to him she let him keep Sammy. Sammy didn't get along too well with my daughter's cat too, so to ease the stress, he kept Sammy. When and how did I get this cat? Let me tell you.
My daughter received an email from her ex-boyfriend asking her if she wanted Sammy. My daughter said no because she was in the middle of moving and she had no place to keep Sammy. And this is where I come in? No not quite yet. The reason he was trying to get rid of Sammy, he said was because he was jealous of his daughter. Yes, that's right, after my daughter broke up with him, he had a girl pregnant within 2 years. My daughter is now with a much better guy. Her ex said Sammy was peeing on the baby's things and scratching up all the wood furniture he can find. My daughter told him she was unable to take him and he assured her he would find a good home for him.
So to her surprise, the very next day she receives a call from the Animal Shelter asking her if she lost her cat. (She had Sammy Microchip-ed and under her name). She explained to them about how her ex has her cat and the email conversation that took place between them the other day. The Animal Shelter explained that a couple had found Sammy wandering around their apartment complex and drove him to the Animal Shelter. My daughter told them her ex's name and phone number so they could contact him about Sammy. About 5 minutes later, they call her back and said that the person she spoke with on the phone was the person that brought Sammy to the shelter saying he was a stray. The Animal Shelter was furious with the "lying couple" and asked her to pick Sammy up.
After work, my daughter went to pick Sammy up. And was shocked when she saw him. She hasn't seen Sammy in a few years, but when they asked her to identify Sammy, he was huge. All that effort that she put forward before with Sammy had clearly been wasted. He was even heavier than before, he had even less hair than before, he was covered in fleas, and he was terrified. As soon as she signed the papers for him she took him to a vet and started over.
Sammy is now losing weight, he's lost 3.4 pounds, his fleas are gone, his hair is growing back, and he's not scratching up furniture. He hasn't damaged a thing since she brought him. With her work schedule, we decided it would be easier for us to keep Sammy and for her to keep her cat. Also, Sammy is incredibly attached to my wife. He follows her everywhere, sleeps next to her, and growls when people are at the door.
