In this edition of Happy Tails, we’re sharing the story of Peawee, a kitten who beat the odds and showed amazing resilience to become a mentor to foster kitties cared for by her family.

Here adopter Michael tells us Peawee’s story:

How Peawee met her family

Peawee with Michael and foster kitty Dymka

Peawee (nicknames: Pea, Flower, Pewpio, Pewps, Pee-Poo and many more), is 1 ½ years old. Peawee’s mom was a pregnant kitty we fostered and named Calypso.

On the morning of July 5, 2020, we went into Calypso’s room to see four kittens already born. There were two white and black and two white and grey. One of the kittens was behind mom so I picked up this tiny black and white thumb of a cat and put it with the others who were nursing. After the first four we experienced the joy of the delivery of two more kittens. As the day went on I visited the kittens often, but didn’t handle or disturb them unless one had strayed away from mom. I gently reset kittens among their peers and they happily fed.

At midnight I dutifully checked in on our newly minted family after my wife Viktoryia had gone to bed. As I was watching, one kitten opened its mouth, yawn-like, so wide that its cheeks turned inside out, its legs then went peg straight and it fell over stiff and unmoving. In that instant my heart broke.

I immediately called our emergency kitten contact. When they answered I told them that one of the kittens had passed away and explained the circumstances. As we spoke, I touched the stiff little kitten laying like a toy horse on its side and it began to move!

One kitten, unbeknownst to us, had not been feeding and had been rejected by mom, Calypso. This isn't terribly uncommon as it makes it easier to care for the strong kittens. A wise cat person told me to wrap her up warm with mom and that she'd probably be gone in the morning. I understood, but being a night owl and a first time kitten doula, I asked if it would be alright if I tried to save her. I was told that even if I save her she will likely still pass away sooner rather than later as this is what often happens in cases with kittens like this.

Distraught, but undeterred, and lucky to have nipples and formula in the house, I decided to make it my mission to keep the kitten alive. All night I fed this puny missile of fluff, only sleeping an hour between feedings. In the morning I woke my wife and let her know what was going on so she could keep up the care while I slept.

This went on for days. It wasn’t easy to feed this kitten. She didn’t want to be forced and certainly didn't care for the formula, but we packed it in like clockwork until she was strong enough to attempt to feed from her mother.

Between feedings we held her up to mom's nipple and kept the other kittens away in hopes that she could latch. She was so small that we (or often my mom, Vicky) would support her so she could reach the good nipple. Eventually she managed to catch on and went from being knocked off by the big, perfect, plush siblings to being able to scratch and claw them into submission and hold her ground.

This was Peawee. She was by far the smallest of her litter and she had to fight to survive. When her siblings left for their new homes they all weighed more than 1,100g and our little Pea had yet to even reach 900g. (Peawee's mom and brother were adopted by real estate clients of mine and I've since pet-sat them. Peawee's other brother Rubel was adopted by my cousin.)

Peawee also had a bout with Limping Calici (a virus that causes sudden limping and lameness), which she picked up at a routine vet check-up, that had us almost completely stumped. It gave us quite a scare as she was very poorly for a while, but with the help of some of my fellow VOKRA volunteers we figured it out and she's good as new.

Another thing is Peawee used to have a neurological tick where after eating sometimes her tongue would stick out of her mouth and wag for quite a long time. You can watch a video of her doing it here. It was disturbing at first, but quite cute, and though strange it didn't seem to harm her and eventually went away.

We weren’t planning to get another cat, but we feel with her issues and the bond we've created with her over those harrowing months, we couldn't realistically give her up, so here she is, in all her glory. Ours. Peawee!"

I remember just how little and rambunctious she was. Constantly causing trouble and egging on our older crotchety ex-street cat "buddy" Friday. She's extremely funny, quirky, comfortable in her own fur and she entertains us constantly. Love from Peawee is the greatest feeling in the world.

Peawee’s a role model for other foster kittens

I volunteer as a foster with VOKRA, so Peawee is technically a foster fail. I’ve since then been elected to VOKRA's board of directors so my journey within the organization is actually a fairly interesting one.

Peawee has become a really great companion, entertainer and stress reliever for not only myself and Viktoryia, but also for foster cats and kittens that come through our home. She has the ability to entertain and befriend foster kittens in a tireless way that humans can’t.

It's really nice to have a kitten who was born and raised in VOKRA’s care because, though I love our other cat, Peawee is fully tame, very well trained and causes us no issues at all aside from mischief. I believe the fostering system really works.

Some fun facts about Peawee

Peawee won't eat ANY solid treats at all (weird right), so her favorite treats are tube treats like Churu and others.

She's a flopper. She'll slow down, stop and do a dramatic flop onto her back at random intervals.

She has the BEST floofy tail. It's wider than her body when it fans out.

She also makes sweet, funny prrrooop or permeeow noises when she wants something. Sometimes she does this when she wants us to follow her somewhere or wants us to let her in a closed room (that's off limits).

Peawee also has one hilarious habit. She actually prefers our other cat Friday's food so every day at dinner time, like clockwork, she will sit pretty about six inches behind Friday while she eats so that when Friday’s finished she can lick the scraps. She understands the pecking order.

Peawee's one of the stars of my TikTok @michaelsheldrake where I share all my foster cats and kittens, as well as videos of Friday too. Less frequently, but still from time to time, she's also featured on my Instagram @agentmichael

Want to share your Happy Tail?

Email kotm@vokra.ca for information about how to share your kitty’s story.

Happy Tails: Peawee & Michael

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