That sucks. I had two cats growing up. When I went to visit my mommy, a scraggly beat up ole junkyard looking cat walked up and nudged his head on my pants. I was about to kick it away (my mom likes to harbor stray animals) and I saw his eyes and immediately recognized him as the 25 lb. furball that used to fall asleep at the end of my bed.
I couldn't believe it... one of his ears was cut off about halfway, the other ear had no fur, his whiskers were gray, he walked with an arthritic hip limp, and had no voice (his meows were just mouth openings).
I reached down to pet him and scratch his neck and his eyes lit up so bright.
The next time I visited my mom said she hasn't seen him in over 6 months. I cried on the way home.