I wouldn’t describe myself as a “mad cat lady” but I’ve ended up with three cats: Millie, Daisy and… Piggle.
And Piggle might have the most character of any cat I’ve ever met.
It all began nine years ago when my daughter Eleanor was volunteering for Cats Protection as part of her Duke of Edinburgh award.
She kept asking if we could get a kitten, but we had a very elderly dog at the time, a West Highland Terrier named Mac. He was another massive character!
Eventually, Mac died and my daughter had become interested in a litter of kittens from a factory cat from Fife.
I wanted female cats, and Eleanor fell in love with two kittens from that litter – Daisy and Millie.
Then there was the runt of the litter. She wasn’t going to be rehomed because she had a heart murmur, but when she went to the vet, they discovered it wasn’t so bad.
Then she went up for adoption and I thought: I can’t just leave this single kitten behind.
So I brought her home with her sisters, and called her Igglepiggle, like from In The Night Garden, stupidly. Now she just gets called Piggle, and I adore her.
‘Wobbly knees’ mean no high jumping
Piggle’s an apt name for her too, because she loves her grub. She’s like a rugby ball with four legs!
The reason she’s so enormous (despite being fed the least) is that all three kittens were born with what’s called ‘luxating patellas’ – essentially, wobbly kneecaps.
The other two cats are relatively normal now, but Piggle still has a wobbly leg, and she has difficulty jumping. She can’t just launch herself up, I think she’s afraid of hurting herself.
She’s not a cat that lands on her feet! But she’s such a character.
Each day I cycle to and from work at Dundee City Council. When I get home from work, she’s waiting for me in the garden.
She loves the sunshine, so she goes out there to lie on her back. Most cats don’t want tummy tickles, but she does – she even lay on her back at the vets on a recent visit!
It’s funny, because our dog Mac died at the beginning of May, and Piggle and her sisters were born on May 9. I think here’s a bit of Mac in her.
Playful Piggle is pretty as a picture
Piggle’s very attached to me, and during lockdown she wouldn’t leave me alone. She used to sit on my keyboard when I was working from home, or lie in my arms when I was trying to type.
She’d even chase the cursor on the screen when I moved the mouse.
Although Piggle’s long past being a kitten, she’s still got that kitten’s fascination with boxes. If the sides are low enough, she’ll entertain herself jumping in and out of them.
Looking through my camera roll in my phone, it’s full of photos of Piggle. You can tell she’s the favourite – there’s very few of the other cats!
You can definitely tell she’s the runt of the litter. Her head’s quite small, and she’s enormous. She’s not the most beautiful of cats, but she is beautiful on the inside.
And to me, she’s gorgeous – full stop!
Do you have a remarkable pet or unusual animal? Get in touch to share your Pet Tales at: PetTales@thecourier.co.uk
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