Domestic Short Hair-black and white, Siamese [Mix]

Update on Garfunkel (please see final paragraph for main info on Garf): Simon and Garf were in a foster home for the first three months after they came back to us, but they didn't get adopted and after a while the foster-mama couldn't keep them anymore. That weekend we noticed that Simon's skin had turned yellow - he had becomes jaundiced. He had to be hospitalized for a week at a cost of approx. $300 because his liver values were very high and our vet was afraid he was in liver failure, but fortunately he quickly rallied and got over it, and was fine for quite a while. Unfortunately while he was away Garf stopped eating. He started eating again when Simon came back and we let them both out with a large group of cats. They seemed perfectly at home - they slept with me at night and never hissed once at the other cats at all, but after three weeks I noticed Garf wasn't eating and he suddenly became jaundiced, too. Garf didn't improve when hospitalized and ended up having to see the internist and have a feeding tube put in. He improved briefly then caught a severe respiratory infection and several weeks later we were still having to hand feed him. I ended up having to syringe feed him for 6 months! It was very slow and tedious as if you fed him too much at a time he would vomit up what he'd just been fed. He became very thin, yet was somehow hanging in there and finally in desperation one night I told him if he didn't eat I was afraid he might not make it. The very next day he began to eat again of his own accord, and he gradually regained much of his weight. We at first thought Garf and Simon's problems were similar - that they were particularly sensitive about the changes in their lives, but as it turned out, Garf stopped eating due to the stresses but Simon actually had some more serious problems which became apparent several months later. At first bloodwork and X-rays didn't show anything definitive, but it eventually looked more and more like he had cancer, most probably of the liver and/or bile ducts. He was OK for quite a while with various treatments - we didn't want to lose him as he was such a nice, sweet kitty and we did everything we could, but finally last fall he began to have seizures, and we had to make the decision to put him to sleep. Garf's illness cost us more than $1,600 and Simon's cost several hundred more dollars. Can you make a donation towards Simon and Garfunkel's vet expenses? Every little bit helps. Please go to www.carolinacats.org and just click on the Paypal button, or you can mail it to P. O. Box 210705, Columbia, SC 29221. Garfunkel is a very sweet white and black patched boy with a cute pink nose. Despite this coloring he is a Siamese mix (his brother Simon got the Siamese coloring). These two kitties were adopted from Carolina Cats when they were kittens and had a wonderful home, but their owner passed away from cancer and Carolina Cats took them back because the owner's daughter didn't want them. Their owner doted on them, and at first they missed her a lot. They used to sleep with her. Now that Garf is the only one left he really would like a home of his own. Garf is neutered and declawed, so he needs to be indoors only, of course. Garf has always lived with other cats and seems to get along fine with any of them. To inquire about adopting Garf, please e-mail us at carocats@lycos.com and tell us where you live, ages of children if any, other family members, other pets you may have, your vet's name, where ou live and whether you live in an apartment, house, condo, mobile home, etc., your vet's name, and what kinds of behaviors and personality you are looking for and/or like or dislike in a kitty and perhaps a little about cats you've owned past and present to help us evaluate whether you and Garf would be a good match. There is always a possibility he could stop eating again and might need special care, but we have recently had to move all the cats I personally cared for to another foster parent while I underwent surgery and recovery, and Garf has made that transition quite well and is eating normally. Garf will turn 11 in September, but he is quite active and spry, and very affectionate.