Maximus was in a hit-and-run

He suffered a fractured skull, broken jaw and a missing eye. He's was selected as a finalist in PDSA Pet Survivor of the Year 2018. Read his unbelievable story.

Pet Survivor Case File

My Breed: Domestic Shorthair Cat

Date of incident: 27 June 2017

My age at the time: 5 years

Where I live: Fife, Scotland

I was treated by: Inglis Vet Centre, Dunfermline

My humans are: The Trotter family

Maximus, known affectionately as Maxy by his family, was found slumped against the front door by a neighbour. It was clear he wasn't ok: his face was a mess, his jaw was hanging off and he was covered in blood.

He was immediately taken to Inglis Vet Centre, where vets suspected he was hit by a car that drove of, and had somehow dragged himself home. Once he was stabilised, the horrifically extensive nature of his injures became apparent. His skull was fractured in several places and his jaw split right down the middle, his right eye was missing, and the skin on his lips had been partly torn off.

He was in such a bad way that euthanasia was discussed, but his owner Sharon asked the vets to do anything they could to save him. She knew that Maxy was a fighter - if anyone could recover it was him - plus she knew her son Cory would be devastated to lose him.

So vets devised a tailored treatment for Max: a metal pin to go across the front of his face, through his nose to keep the two halves of his fractured upper jaw together while they healed. His lower jaw was also wired into place, but his right eye was lost. As he was coming round from the operation, Max stopped breathing twice and required resuscitation. But he and the vet team fought through everything and he stayed at the vets until he was eventually stable enough to go home. But Maxy still required round-the-clock care and nursing, which his owners took on with no complaint.

Maxy needed feeding through a tube every four hours, and his wounds cleaning and redressing every day. This went on for over six weeks, but Maximus took it all in his stride. His tongue became dry and cracked after several weeks, so his owners dripped water into his mouth. His quiet resolve and indomitable spirit meant he didn’t complain once, allowing his owners, vets and nurses do everything he needed. But unless he would start to eat himself, there were still no guarantees for him.

Then, seven weeks after the incident, he managed to eat his first solid food - everyone was overjoyed.  Max’s vets say they were stunned he even survived the initial accident, but even more amazed at his total recovery. In 20 years they’ve never had a patient like him, and feel he truly lives up to his gladiator name!