The saga of Biggums aka Big Boy

This is Biggums, aka Big Boy. As his name suggests he is a VERY BIG cat, and very lucky too. About 6 weeks ago when I went out to water my garden one evening he came out from under the deck and started rubbing up against my legs. So sweet and obviously social. Then I noticed he had a quarter sized chunk missing out of his side. I think he must have gotten into a altercation with a raccoon or some other wildlife that lives in the woods behind our house. No collar, so no id.

Since it appears that he hasn't wandered too far from a food bowl in his life I assumed he belonged to someone in my neighborhood or the one that backs up to mine. My husband persuaded me to take him to our local SPCA shelter around the corner from our house so if someone went looking for him, they'd find him. So reluctantly I took him over and told them that if no one called for him, I wanted him. I put up flyers in my neighborhood and put flyers in a bunch of mailboxes in my neighborhood and the one that is behind ours. No one every called.



Well they shipped him down to the main SPCA facility about 20 miles away and sewed him up. I called several times a week for the last 6 weeks inquiring about his condition and whether anyone else had called (they hadn't) and when I could come and take him home. Every time I called I got a different story - the cat was on meds, the cathad a respiratory infection, the cat needed to be spayed, huh? I thought it was a male but I didn't know for sure.

Finally 2 days ago my son called and got them to commit to a day I could come and get the cat- Friday. On Friday, cat carrier in hand I went to the shelter near my house to claim "my cat" and they brought out a tiny tiny little cat. HUH??? this is not the cat I brought in. The cat I brought in goes 12, 15 pounds easily. Well the cat they showed me did have the same number on his collar but he was not the cat I was looking for.

They explained that sometimes the collars, which are like hospital bracelets come off and the animals get mixed up. I can see how that would happen but I don't see how you could mistake Biggums for a 5 lbs kitty. I came home on Friday heartbroken that they didn't have "my cat". The SPCA had a free cat adoption promotion a couple of weeks ago and they thought maybe he had mistakenly been adopted. While I hoped that was true and that he hadn't been euthanized, I was skeptical.

My son insisted that this morning we go down to the main SPCA shelter and see what we could find out. They were very nice and told us to go back and look at all the cats they had. We looked through 2 rooms of cats and while there were several gray and white ones they weren't the one I was looking for. Then the lady working there starts calling "Here Biggums" and from behind a big stack of crates he comes sauntering out. OMG!!! I was blown away. He had been there for the last 6 weeks! And while the cat at the shelter by my house wore the number 311 so did Biggums. Someone messed up. Luckily I had the paperwork they gave me that said I brought in a male 10 lbs (in his dreams) cat and now the computer says the cat was female and weighs 5 lbs.




The lady at the main shelter has been letting him have the run of the cat area since he's been there because she thought he was too big to stay in a cat crate. She's been calling him Biggums and I think it is very appropriate. She gave him lots of love and attention and said what a good cat he is and she seemed happy that he would go to a good home. Others at the main shelter commented that he has to have a great constitution to be able to live there for 6 weeks without getting sick and he certainly didn't drop any weight while he was there.

So he's going to live with us now and there will be a steady supply of food and kitty treats and love and attention. He's been surveying his new surrounding and checking out all the new smells. My last cat passed away over a year ago. He was also a "found" cat and like Biggums I believe I was meant to find him.

My son reminded me that persistence pays off and he is certainly right in this case. If I hadn't kept calling and if he hadn't insisted we go check out the main shelter I wouldn't have Biggums. Here is a picture of him in what I assume is his favorite habitat, next to a bowl of cat crunchies ( shhh...he doesn't know it is the weight control formula).



Is it wrong to Febreeze your pet? Biggums has the lingering aroma of animal shelter about him. I wiped his down with some damp soapy paper towels and gave him a spritz of Febreeze Pet Odor Eliminator. Hopefully that and an airing out on the screen porch will help.