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A Kingwood man was shocked to find a cat clinging to life as it struggled to stay afloat in Lake Conroe under the FM 1097 bridge.

Mac Mayo, 66, was fishing with a friend on Wednesday when they decided to call it a day and head home. However, the two men noticed something in the water near a bridge pylon.

“We were going from pylon to pylon catfishing and crappie fishing,” Mayo said. “I thought it was a bird. It was hard to tell because the wind had picked up and the water was choppy.”

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Once the men got closer, they were shocked to see what was in the water.

“I said, ‘that’s a darn cat,” Mayo said. “He was drifting along and barely moving when we got to him. He was near death, he used up a couple of lives yesterday.”

Mayo is no stranger to fishing but said this is the first time this has ever happened to him. Originally from Florida, Mayo said he and his brothers grew up fishing. He moved to Texas about 40 years ago and has lived in Kingwood for 25 years.

Mayo said he didn’t see the cat go into the water but said it either fell or was thrown from the bridge since it was so far from land.

“It was at least a mile to high ground,” he said. “Some guys fishing on the bank asked if we caught anything and I said ‘look at this big cat!’”

The cat, about 3 months old, Mayor said, is currently being cared for by the Mayo family but they hope to find a good home for him.

“We are cat people but we have two cats and a dog and that’s enough in one house,” Mayo said. “He is a little feisty but he is calming down.”