Tag Archives: Piggy Peggy

Nov14

Big Guy‘s Story – Part One

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I’d seen him around work for a long time. I say ‘around’ because he never got close to me at all. I first noticed him after I had met and befriended Peggy. I’m not sure how many years it has been since I first spotted this white ghost slinking underneath cars in our parking lot.

I think this is the first photo I took of him, October 2019. He ran away when I got too close. This is a zoomed-in picture (hence the blur).

Once Peggy let me see her babies, this big white dude also trusted me enough to come and hang out (and get food).

21 October, 2019.

He was so good with what I assumed were his kittens. Maybe they were, maybe not… he also assumed they were his or just loved Peggy. In any case, he let momma cats Peggy and Vickie and all of the kittens steal his food without a hiss or a swat. He moved aside and looked filthily regal, like a white lion watching over his pride. He still kept his distance from me.

January 2020

I didn’t give up, and he eventually learned to trust me. I was spending most of my mental efforts on the three kittens Peggy had finally showed me. I needed to get them, and Peggy, help. Always I knew he had to be caught and neutered, too. So, while taming feral kittens, I worked on earning his trust.

February 10, 2020

From October to February… finally I got my first touch! I was so thrilled. He trusted me to get close enough after so long.

March 5, 2020. He had a huge, bloody wound on his ear.

He had such a kind and attentive manner toward Peggy, despite her slapping him silly, daily. He protected the kittens and Peggy, even if she didn’t need (or want) him to. This tomcat was so special! I desperately wanted to clean him up, brush him, heal his wounds and keep him safe from more injuries, illness and parasites.

I’d fallen in love.

May 22, 2020. It was the most horrible windy day, and I set up my chair in a sheltered corner and got him on my lap for the first time. Peggy joined him on my other leg shortly, as I was keeping them both out of the wind.

Nov8

Nothing Ever Goes as Planned

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I’ve been delaying an update on Piggy, Vickie, and the SEVEN kittens, because I have hardly a thing to say.

First, the SPCA is crammed full of kittens and there is no room for my seven. It’s so sad. So much irresponsibility regarding cats in this county. If you are feeding them, maybe it’s up to you to make sure that food isn’t making more kittens? Sigh.

Well, I am feeding them, and I do feel responsible. Even though I live 20 minutes away, these are my babies.

Firstly, I had difficulty getting a cat trap. So a few days of my week off were wasted in regards to cat trapping!

I did catch Vickie on Wednesday. I thought like a cat, and moved the trap a few times to make it seem ‘safe.’ I also had to distract all the babies with food, while also making sure she knew where more food was. It didn’t quite go as planned, as she went in twice and didn’t trigger the drop down door. The third time she did, but it also caught the all black kitten, Bear.

Me, watching Vickie not-trigger the trap!

Vickie freaked right the hell out, of course. My first surprise was how quiet she was, no vocalisations at all. Just banging around trying to escape. But when I picked up the trap with her and Bear in it she bit the hell out of him, right on the back of the neck. He screamed. It was horrible! I had to let him out, somehow, and I did.

My brilliant husband came with me and drove to the vet that would do the spay on Vickie, and I am so thankful as my adrenaline was through the roof making my hands shake and my brain less than perfectly functional. It’s also super hard to find parking so no way could I deal with all at once.

The volunteer I’ve been working with took Vickie back and released her, but I couldn’t get the trap back until Friday. Himself came with me again, with high hopes.

I sort of … pushed Piggy Peggy into the trap. She’s my friend, I didn’t want to trick her too much. But it didn’t work; she immediately got out the other side and then she was mad at me. Fail. She left the area completely and we gave up.

I couldn’t even try to get Piggy again this week. I work until 6, and the vet doing the TNR closes at 4. I also give a coworker a lift home so I couldn’t stay late even if they did stay open longer.

Also, Piggy was upset with me and didn’t appear until Wednesday this week. Then it rained like hell for two days. I’ve still been feeding the babies of course.

Yep, seven. Didn’t this start with four? I’m thinking four are Peggy’s, and a bit older, and the other five are Vickie’s. Bear, Shark, and Jupiter are definitely Peggy’s kids. It’s so hard to tell the other ones apart.

I did name another one yesterday. There is one very small baby with an all black face, and she has gotten so brave in the last two days! She is now Elf. Maybe she is the runt of Peggy’s litter?

I’ve been playing with them as well, and between the cheese and the toy, I get Elf, Shark, and Jupiter climbing up my legs. Touching is still iffy, but today I managed to get in some full-hand strokes, not just a finger on the back. The shy ones play by themselves after they eat, but the named ones stick by me.

Cheese please?

I was also given some wormer, seen here. Hoping those fat bellies are my good food and not worms. But it’s likely worms.

Today wasn’t so good. I heard a lot of sneezing. Peggy came up and didn’t want cheese, she only wanted to sit on the blanket beside me. I eventually got her to eat a little bit, but she definitely did not feel good. I rang the TNR vet and I can pick up some antibiotics tomorrow to put in the food. I hope they eat it. I also hope I can catch Peggy.

This whole experience has been harder than I thought, and scary, and stressful. I’m super happy I have Vickie spayed now but so much more needs done. I’d still love some donations for the SPCA, they might take the babies if room opens up.

Oct27

Yesterday’s Loving

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First and most dear to me – thank you so very much for donations! Y’all know I think I’m tough, but every time I saw an email notification I started to cry. I am getting emotional again thinking about your amazing generosity! I really cannot thank you enough. If there is anything I can do for you, I will!

To the update:

I went to work yesterday, on a day off, to spend as much time as I could with the clowder.

I didn’t take many pictures. I was too involved with watching them interact and simply being at peace, with no time clock ticking in my head saying I had to go. I’m not one of those people who feel as if a phone has to be in my hand to record real life instead of experiencing it myself.

One of my close friends has fallen in love with the black one. She has named him Toto, Orsetto Toto (Teddy Bear – she is Italian). She can’t take him as she already has six cats – some fosters – in her two bedroom home.

I have fallen in love with the goopy-eyed one, and have named him Jupiter. He looks so much better now! Maybe it was finally getting some nutritious food that helped him heal. He is definitely a he: I was able to get a cheeky sneak peek under his tail yesterday!

I had to take a screenshot of the video of him just to get a picture for you. I don’t think I can add video here without the mental work than I’m not capable of right now.

So, I’m worried for them and a bit sad that I can’t see them until Tuesday, when the rescue operation will take place.

And… I think I counted a seventh kitten yesterday! I’m now thinking maybe some of these babies are Vickie’s? Some of them look smaller and are definitely more timid than the rest. Vickie is so skittish that I can’t tell if she is nursing or not. I’m very sure Piggy Peggy does not have seven teats ‘on the go’, as she lets me rub her belly!

It makes sense if some are Vickie’s. Explains how there were four, then five, six; now seven… please don’t let there be more in hiding!! I’m starting to feel underprepared, and a bit unsure. I must remember I have all week, with no time pressure, and Peggy (and I’m hoping Vickie also) can be spayed and returned in just a few days. Any kittens still hiding will be okay as long as I put food in places that are within close proximity to hiding places.

I can do this.

Oct24

…And on Wednesday, Even Closer…

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It was raining like hell on Wednesday, and I had little time with the cats as I had a personal emergency and so lost my lunch 45mins.

I fed them under the bushes so they wouldn’t get rained on too much. I got wet of course!

Something is wrong here…

Ah, no!

One two three four five … six. Six kittens now? I swear they are multiplying.

Six. Sigh. This gets worse every day. Except… look how close I am to them all. That’s very good! I stroked the ones who let me, but I move slowly and quietly and try not to hover my hand or arm overhead as that scares them.

Oct23

Piggy The Teacher

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The first thing PP did to surprise me involved an elderly turkey sandwich.

Vickie came to see me first, and I was tossing bits of turkey and cheese her way (I didn’t need a lunch, right? It was a couple days old anyhow). She wouldn’t come close to me at all. Eventually Piggy showed up, came to me, sat beside me, got some loving and some cheese, and then she went to sniff the bread, which I’d left on the ground next to me, thinking they wouldn’t have any interest in it.

Piggy picked up half the bread (French loaf type), took it over to Vickie and dropped it, then gave a “momma cat call.” She was calling her teenager over and saying, “Hey! You missed this. Look, it’s got butter on it! Eat it, dummy! That weird big cat over there has good stuff, and you can trust her.”

Well, I was gobsmacked. Even more so when Piggy took the other half off into the bushes. I knew it was for the still-hidden kittens. Wow!

In the middle of this, the tomcat showed up. I’m calling him Big Boy. He’s honestly not that big, as he’s mostly floof.

He was stalking Vickie and looked like big trouble. I was about to get in between them when someone left the parking area making lots of scary car noise, and everyone scattered. Whew, right?

Big Boy came back a few days later, and as above, he perched on a wall. I got closer and closer until I was about a meter and a half away before he fled.

He is gorgeous. He has the lightest ice blue eyes, and faint orange/red colour on his face. He’s also filthy as hell on his belly and feet, poor lad. This was taken on the 17th. I was assuming he was trouble for the kittens, especially after Piggy growled at him during the ‘stalking.’

Backtracking a bit to the 15th, when the kittens started popping through the fence to get food.

The all black one was first. He was brave. I’m assuming he, for no reason whatsoever. So there we have black kitten, Piggy Peggy, and Vickie.

Yum yum yum!

I’m using those bright blue bowls on purpose – a visual cue that food can be found inside.

This Monday Vickie was right there when I called, even before Peggy. Then three wee ones popped through the fence. The black one, and two B&W ones.

Vickie is still very scared, so has run to be safe behind the fence. At this point, the kittens are warming to me via the blue bowl of noms. This also tells me that Vickie is being a good aunt to these babies by helping keep them warm and guarding them. They trust and follow her.

Piggy Peggy shows up and we do our usual cuddle greeting. I get a second bowl so she can eat, too.

Then… Big Boy arrives. I get tense as I know male cats kill kittens sometimes. He goes to the now-empty first bowl. The kittens have moved to the closer one to steal from momma.

Piggy…doesn’t care?

What is going on here?

I dole out more wet food.

Big Boy is actually sharing it with the kittens. Piggy isn’t worried at all. I’m baffled.

He actually turns away and stops eating to let the wee ones have their fill. Exactly the way Peggy and Vickie do.

All this time I’m sitting quite still and trying to remember to talk to the cats, getting them used to my sounds and calls so they associate my voice with food. I’m also checking to see if Big Boy is deaf like so many white cats – he isn’t. But he does have a raging case of ear mites; I can see the dirt they leave. Yuck.

He backs off when I get more food. He actually sits to the side and proceeds to groom himself. I’m thinking he’s pretty comfortable with me if he can do that.

I’m feeling sorry for Peggy who has given all her food to the babies. Still trying to get them closer to me, I fill the closer bowl. That’s when I get to touch two of kittens! They came at a run to momma’s call. I gave them gentle strokes on the head and back, one finger only, while they ate even more.

These are the two I made contact with. The all black one, and one of the black and whites. I think my efforts are paying off and I’m taking the feral out of them with Piggy’s help.

I’m only up to Monday. I have more!

Oct22

Piggy’s Clowder

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Something has changed in Piggy Peggy in the year I didn’t see her. Now that I’m back at work again, she has clearly missed me and is showing it in some very surprising ways.

It was obvious that she had recently weaned another litter of kittens when I first saw her again, in April. She had the remnants of milk still, the poor thing. Soon, I found missing fur on the back of her neck and initially thought it was mange. It was not. The baldness was from mating. Cats aren’t very romantic.

Soon Peggy disappeared for long weeks. I knew she’d had more babies.

I’ve been looking for the kittens ever since.

And I’ve found them, living in a dense garden hedge that borders my workplace. The company put up a fence a few years ago along that line, and the homeowners keep it nicely trimmed even on the side they can’t see. It’s thick, and it’s chock-full of cats.

Six, I thought. Piggy Peggy, a mostly black teenage daughter from the spring I’m calling Vickie, and four kittens, one all black and the rest black and white. Then I spotted what I believe is a male teenager, all black. Seven, Then I met who I expect is daddy Tomcat, pure white and stunning. Eight. Then I saw a fifth kitten! Nine. Oh no, no no.

Piggy and Vickie.

For now there are nine. I say for now, because I’ve seen two dead black and white cats in the road across from this house. How many have died there that I didn’t see? It could be dozens by now. I saved just one, Iggy (who is still happy and healthy and beloved). But he cost me a lot of money. If she is having at least 4 kittens 3 times a year… this is awful. They die. They die horribly.

I know it’s hard to see, but there are two kittens in this picture. Taken 7 October. This is where they are living, in the bushes.

At the same time, it’s amazing to see them interacting. And also how my efforts to make friends are working, but it’s Piggy Peggy who is the one teaching not only her kittens, her teenager, but me.

She kept me away, and kept them away and safe as a good momma does. But they are bounding about now and exploring, and I am not making this up but she is trying like hell to teach the little ones, and her teenage daughter, that I am safe. I am honoured.

I’m also feeding them all!

Next post is about how she is educating her babies, including Vickie, and some surprises.

Last picture is as close as I could get to the kittens on 11 October. Notice Piggy Peggy is watching over them, and watching me also.

Mar8

Happy Piggie

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I was off work for a week and a day. When I came back, I searched every day and questioned my coworkers to see if Piggy had been around. All I could learn is that she had only been seen on the first Monday that I missed work – under a car. The weather was terrible the whole time, so it made sense she was sheltering somewhere.

I was back the next week on Tuesday. I looked for her and called for her several times a day – no Piggie. I started to worry, a lot. Did she get hit by a car? 

She finally showed up at half five on Thursday, after me panicking for two and a half days!

She had two new big scratches on her nose, which are healing now. Poor girl. She is going to look like a battered old tomcat pretty soon, with the lack of care and not being spayed. Grrr.

Today’s weather was gorgeous. Sunny, warm, calm – just perfect. Of course I went outside for lunch and yes, she came to find me!


Herself on my lap, enjoying the sunshine and the face scratches. I had my boots off, socks off, jeans rolled up to get that lovely sunshine on my furry legs!


Those so-very-narrow pupils tell the story of how sunny it was. So glad to have her back on my lap at lunchtime.