So many years ago, I adopted a long haired, bright white calico kitten with the man I was dating at the time. Pigwidgeon and her white brother Hedwig lived with him and his son in our long distance relationship. Unfortunately, things didn't work out, though I loved all of them (the man, the son, and the kittens) very much. He asked me if he could keep the babies, as his little boy was very attached. I hated to lose them, particularly my little Pigwidgeon who snuggled close to me every time I was there.
I've looked for another long haired, bright white calico ever since. Unconsciously at first... I was picking up cat food one New Year's Eve with no intention of getting other kittens when I saw a long haired, bright white calico kitten at the adoption center. Two young girls were going to adopt her for their brand new apartment, and left to get landlord permission. I asked to hold her until they came back, but they never did. I held her for hours, and she never wiggled or tried to escape. Patches came home with me.
She was absolutely the sweetest kitten. Always calm, always ready for a snuggle. But one day she seemed even more lethargic. The next day I called the vet. She went in to see them on the 3rd day and they called me at lunch to tell me I should come as soon as I could. They kept her breathing until I could get there and say goodbye. She was barely a year old.
That's when my search for my dream kitten became a conscious effort. Every few months I'd search for calico kittens in shelters and craigslist. I signed up for some automatic searches to be sent to me and joined a few calico rescue Facebook groups.
As a result, I ended up with quite an assortment of calicos. My husband actually banned me from running errands solo for awhile when I went to the grocery store and came back with a calico handed to me in a parking lot. But Chiyo and Katsu have short hair, Mochi has dark fur, Musubi is short fur and dilute. I love them all, but I was still looking.
When I joined my rescue last year, I thought it would be a great way to find her, but we don't always know what other kittens are being cared for in other foster homes until their bios and pictures are posted for adoption. After I watched two possibilities get adopted by other families, I sent a general message out to the organization, asking them to please keep me in mind if they got a long haired, bright white calico.
They took this quest to heart, and several of them found a lot more local rescues than I ever knew existed! I'd get texts or links to potential kittens a few times a week from different fosters, but almost every time one fit the vision in my head, the kitten would be adopted already.
Until last Sunday, when April sent me a message less than 2 hours old with the picture above. My heart started pounding, then dropped when I read the comments and saw several other people show interest already. But the poster left a number to call/text so I contacted them to say I was interested if the other families didn't get her. I found out later 6 other interested families were interested, but they adoption coordinator and the foster mom liked that I was an experienced foster.
The foster mom texted me the following morning to let me know she seemed to have caught an eye infection from other kittens in her home- asking if I wanted her to keep her until treatment was over or if I felt ok with just providing her with the treatment. YES, I WILL TREAT THIS! We texted throughout the day, and she sent me pictures of my new baby almost every time.
Pigwidgeon was so calm, but so scared. As soon as she was handed to me, she curled into my arms, but trembled as I talked with her foster mom. My heart absolutely melted when she finally stopped trembling and started purring. But when the paperwork and interview were done, I had to put her into a crate for the ride home. She shrunk to the back and cringed if I approached her.
Back to trembling when I brought her home. I decided to keep her in the kitten room to give her a safe, slower introduction to our house and to keep her possible eye infection away from the entire household. I tried to make her a little safe corner where she could be alone, but Paprika would not have it. She repeatedly returned, completing ignoring Pigwidgeon's growling and hissing.
Paprika even brought the green mouse- one of their favorite toys. Pigwidgeon was too scared to play with it until 2 days later, but she loves it too now!
Pigwidgeon learned there was nothing to fear and her sweet nature came out quickly. She allowed Paprika into her space without a fuss.
But the first kitten she approached on her own was Cardamom. She came to us as he and I were cuddling and used him as a pillow. This brought all the other kittens in for a quick group snuggle and grooming session.
Usually, when we're not home, the foster kittens go into their kennel and Pigwidgeon stays in the room with them, but she gets to run around. But as they're becoming more of an integrated group, it is getting harder to lock up the fosters, especially if I'm only going to be out for a short time. I let them all rampage around the room the other day while I ran a few errands. I couldn't find her when I got home... but heard some quiet meows and wiggling... she got stuck behind my filing cabinet in a narrow crack between the wall and bookshelf. I didn't see her until I used my phone flashlight... she tried to wiggle out but couldn't. Poor baby!
After the first 2 nights, she stopped running from me and was no longer hissing at the fosters. It was time to bring her into the bedroom for sleepy time! She managed to get up on the bed while we were in the shower and curled into my plush Pua pillow.
She later returned to it to find a Katsu there. Hard to tell, but they're snuggling
This little baby has already brought so much love into this house. She runs up to me with a hoarse little meow, purring loudly and begging to be picked up. After that first night she got on the bed by herself, she struggled the next few nights and would circle the bed, crying for me. This morning she figured out how to get back up again, and she shared my lap with Toasty... I wish I got pictures of that cuteness. We've been in the kitten room all morning as I blog and pay bills, etc- and once they got sleepy, they all come to nap next to me (I'm sitting on a dog bed, blogging on a low table, lol).
Updated 6/30/2020
Pigwidgeon is no longer timid, though she is more gentle and passive than the fosters she's being raised with.
I think she'll miss the fosters when they get adopted. She spends the most time with the Spices.
Pigwidgeon wasn't sure what to make of her new collar for the first few minutes, but decided it suited her within 5 minutes. She only gets to wear it when we're home and can supervise her, as it's still a little big on her.
She quickly got an upgrade to a Lilo & Stitch collar, a special gift from her Aunty Keri and Jess!
Silly pig loves to watch movies with us. She's particularly fond of sci-fi/adventure, so we're re-watching the Marvel universe.
Updated 8/3/2020
Pigwidgeon was worth the wait. She is super playful, but sooooo cuddly.
She follows us around and is constantly demanding attention. Which leads us to the epic saga of the Pig Poop. Part of the kitten package at our vet included two different fecal samples to make sure she didn't have parasites. Our vet provided us with a little tube and scoop to collect it before her check-up. We just couldn't catch her pooping. We tried to just keep an eye on her for a week- the vet calling to make sure we didn't forget.
Update 3/21/21
*whoa* I started updating this in August- but got interrupted and then the covid-school year started... and I got completely derailed!!
Epic Pig Poop was first the elusive Pig Poop. She refused to poop for us! After a few days of failed attempts, we locked her in the bathroom with a fresh clean litterbox. Pig normally has no meow... she opens her mouth and makes a funny croaking noise, but almost no sound. We discovered she had quite a hearty set of lungs- she'd cry for hours while my own heart ached for her. I spent so much time in the bathroom with her, but she would roll in my lap, purring and pushing into my hands for all the attention she had been denied and refused to stay in the litterbox for more than the split second it took for her to get her legs into pouncing mode to leap back into my lap. She was refusing to eat, whether we were in there with her or if left alone for hours. She wailed almost the entire time she was left alone, which led to a few sleepless nights.
Finally... a tiny Pig Poop was produced and we all rejoiced!! We scooped it into the stool sample container and released her from her potty prison with much fanfare.... then watched her walk directly to the foster kittens litter box...
AND POOP.
Yes, my husband and I both stared at her, watching every moment of that poop in complete dismay while simultaneously laughing hysterically.
When she's not withholding poops from us, she is the softest, silkiest love bug. Mama Pig has bonded with every set of foster kittens we've cared for in the past 9 months.
PiggyPig is a floppy girl who often spreads out flat, giving her yet another nickname of Flat Pig.
Pig is very passive. She does love food but is happy to hang in the background until the other felines have had their fill.
When the Power Pack was congested, they spent several nights in the shower with a nebulizer. Pig joined them for the snacks, but after a few bites she moved off to wait. She got back to eating when a few of the power pack left the bowl.
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