The first thing you notice about Piglet is her nose. This
dinky white kitty with black-and-gray accents suffers from a cleft lip, which
gives her a certain resemblance to the A. A. Milne character of the same name.
She’s also experienced a turbulent start to life, but now
this kitty is blooming into a champion for special needs cats.
Also, Snoop Dogg has Piglet’s back.
I’ll explain more on that one later, but for now let’s get
to Piglet’s tale.
Piglet was originally part of a litter that was orphaned at
just a few days old. Thankfully, two veterinary technicians stepped in and
bottle-raised Piglet and her pals.
“She was a lot of work as a baby,” says a friend of the vet
technicians, who’d shortly become become Piglet’s mom after becoming smitten
with a picture of her. “Although she didn’t have many complications from her
cleft, her litter was not very healthy.”
Recounting her first meeting with Piglet, her mom says,
“She was mostly nose! Her eyes were closed, and her ears hadn’t stood up yet.
The first time I met her in person was when she was about 1 and a half weeks
old, and I immediately fell in love with her. She loved being held, and I
thought her nose was extremely cute!”
While Piglet’s personality shone through from the start —
and her mom describes her as “very social and loving” but also “adventurous and
brave” — her cleft lip situation was cause to be cautious.
“So far there have not been any complications due to her
cleft lip,” explains her mom. “We are lucky that her palate is 100 percent
intact, and, despite having a unique nose, her breathing is completely normal.”
She adds that Piglet’s lower jaw is technically shorter
than her top jaw, and that the disparity might cause some future dental issues,
but for now it’s a case of “waiting to see how things develop as she grows.”
Helping Piglet’s cause is the fact that her mom is also a
vet tech at a speciality and emergency hospital — so this little darling is
going to be constantly surrounded by veterinary experts all keeping a close eye
on her development.
Along with the interest of the local veterinary community,
Piglet is also growing up in the public eye thanks to her burgeoning Instagram account.
With her social media profile blooming,
she’s all about showing the world that “a physical difference is not a
disability — cats with physical differences are unique and beautiful in their
own way,” her mom says. “Just look at Piglet’s account and see how many people
have embraced her unique look and love her little lip and nose!”
Along with her online following, Piglet has also picked up
a fan by the name of Snoop Dogg — although in this case it’s not the rapper
(who, incidentally, owns cats), but another feline living in her forever home.
“The majority of their interactions include Piglet
play-attacking Snoop Dogg and stalking his tail,” says her mom. “Luckily, Snoop
is very tolerant and just stands there and allows her to do it. Their
relationship is like that of an older brother taking care of his little
sister.”
Head over to Piglet’s Instagram account to
follow her story.
