Sugar and Spice and Something Not So Nice

In my living room, I felt the weight of my loneliness. I just found myself in a monotonous cycle where each day melted into the next. It was all a blur, waking, walking, waiting, watching, walking, walking, eating, watching. Even with the TV roaring the silence echoed through me, leaving an empty feeling in my chest.

I’ve always been a cat person, loving the idea of a furry little companion to share my space and bring warmth and comfort to my soul. But the thought of taking on the responsibility of caring for another being felt so overwhelming, and just down right scary. Could I provide the love and attention a pet deserved when I felt I could barely provide that for myself.

For months, years even, I toyed with the idea of adoption, scrolling through countless profiles of adorable little monsters looking and needing a loving home. But each time I hesitated, I was overwhelmed by the fear of failure in caring for another life. I was still learning to keep plants alive at this point. How could I care for another life.

A friend introduced me to the idea of fostering. It seemed like a perfect middle ground, a way to experience the joy of having a fluffy little monster in my home, while taking the weight of responsibilities off my shoulders. I feel fragile, I am healing, I want to give so much but I also know I may be limited. I didn’t want to overcommit myself and let a beautiful little fluff ball down. The idea of fostering gave me a newfound determination to succeed, so I made the leap and started to explore my options. I eventually found and connected with the wonderful and amazing people at Sugar & Spice Cat Rescue Centre.

We started chatting and thought we had a few good first foster options. They ended up falling through, but that's okay. I waited patiently knowing that the right fit would come my way and to my surprise within what I think was a week of my initial contact with Sugar & Spice, I received a message asking if I could emergency foster a sweet little guy in need. Without hesitation, I eagerly prepared for his arrival.

The first night with my nameless furry foster companion was a rollercoaster of emotions. From moments of panic when I thought I'd lost him, to heartwarming displays of affection as he tentatively explored his new surroundings.

I kept throwing out sounds and names, testing the waters to see if anything stuck. But nothing really felt right, until. I was watching ‘Lessons in Chemistry’ the episode where she names her child. “Mad.” I saw the fainless of ear perks, he heard me and reacted. I tried again, and got a slight head tilt. It seemed to be invoking something, maybe the high pitched Ma sound got his senses going. Mad, still didn’t seem like the right bit though, I wasn’t mad, nor was he. After a few other variations I settled on Maxie aka. Mad Max, Maxibon, Maximilian.

As the days passed, I watched Maxie open up more and more everyday. His shy demeanour turned to playful antics and affections. We formed a bond that seemed to fill that emptiness in my heart and brought joy to my days.

After a routine vet visit revealed that Maxie was suffering from a severe ear infection—one that had gone unnoticed for far too long. We were sent off with meds and a glimmer of hope, but the severity of the infection I knew we had a long road ahead. We started the 3 times daily battle, ear clean, ear meds. It definitely wasn’t his favourite times of day, but he still grew closer to me. I like to think that he knew I was trying to help.

Despite our best efforts, Maxie's condition worsened. One morning our routine medicine dance caused him to hiss, cry, shake and fidget. My heart raced, I’d never seen this reaction in him before. He was in so much pain and I could see in his deep wide eyes. The look of confusion and disorientation in this new sensation he felt. Eventually we received the heartbreaking discovery of an ear polyp that had perforated his eardrum, leaving him deaf in one ear. The news hit me like a ton of bricks, filling me with such sadness.

Polyps are treatable with medical intervention, but they don’t always come cheap. And that's when the realisation sank in: this could have been prevented if caught earlier. It filled my blood with rage knowing that he’d been suffering under someone's care like this. He had a home and was abandoned; someone called him family, and he was tossed aside like trash. Why? Because his medical needs became too costly? You wouldn’t throw away a child as you did this pet would you?

Now all I can do is try to ease Maxie’s suffering as much as possible. Trying to manage his pain as best I can to make him comfortable. Throughout this whole process the team at Sugar & Spice Cat Rescue were amazing. They were there to support me every step of the way, checking in and making sure we were both okay. Talking through the treatments with the vet the best route, the only route, is to go with the surgical option. But this treatment plan is costly. They’ve found an amazing vet clinic thats willing to drop their rates to help Maxie out, but despite this discount we still need help to fund his treatment. We’re working to raise the money for medical care, surgery, medications, because Maxie deserves a happy healthy life!.

If you’re able to help, that would be amazing, any small donation can go a long way. If you can’t donate there are other ways you can help. Simply reading this article makes a difference, share it with people you know. Any fee’s raised on this article I’ll put towards Maxie’s care. I’m a newer writer, and don’t have a big following yet, so spreading the word can go a long way. Hopefully we’ll raise some awareness on the struggles of abandoned and neglected animals along the way. Inspire others to open their hearts and homes to those in need. Because every furry friend deserves a chance at love and happiness, no matter the obstacles they may face.