Fifi McFluffypants (2036)

Shady Cat Pet ID: 2036
My hang out:  Greensboro, NC

My mug shots …

Here’s my story ...

Fifi McFluffypants was born in an animal rescue in Greensboro, North Carolina. Her mother, an unwanted pregnant stray cat brought to the rescue by good samaritans, and her litter siblings, were all adopted before her, leaving Fifi scared and alone. Luckily, her loneliness didn’t last long, as a girl just starting her freshman year in college showed up at the rescue one day to bring her home.
Fifi, who was just 10 weeks old at the time, was sure that this was going to be the perfect forever home! And in the beginning, that’s what it seemed like. But after a while, the girl – who was going to school full time and working a full-time job – didn’t have time or energy to give Fifi the attention that she needed. Being a very social cat (that’s the Siamese in her), this made Fifi very sad and depressed. She started acting out, peeing outside of her litter box, eating random things around the house, tearing up toilet paper… The girl couldn’t handle it, so she moved Fifi to her parent’s house where there were several dogs already, some of them with fleas. They chased Fifi relentlessly and forced her to live in dark corners and closets of various rooms throughout the small, cramped house.
Then, one day, the girl came to pick Fifi up from her parent’s house. They were finally going to go live on their own together! Fifi thought. But it was not the case. Instead, Fifi found herself in a cat carrier, back at the animal rescue where she was born. “A new surrender,” the staff at the rescue was calling her, which didn’t make much sense to Fifi at first… until the moment she watched her human – the girl she wanted to love so much, to love HER so much – put down her carrier, give her a little wave, and then quickly walk away.
Once again, Fifi was on her own. Scared, homeless, and now infested with fleas (thanks to the dogs at the house where she was living). Thankfully, the staff at the rescue knew what to do. They gave her a flea bath, cleaned her up, and put her in a metal cage lined with a soft blanket, next to a bowl full of food and a dish of fresh water. Despite these “creature comforts” Fifi was still terrified, sad, and alone. She did not eat or drink for days, eventually becoming lethargic and unable to get up and use the litter box on her own. The rescue was able to give her fluids and tried to tempt her into eating with a stinky can of cat food. But Fifi, being so depressed and lonely, did not choose to eat.
Then, a few days later, a new girl Fifi had never met showed up at the rescue and made a bee-line for her cage in the rescue’s cat room. “This is the little kitty I came for, the one I’d like to foster,” the new girl said. “Okay, you can take her home today. But be aware, she hasn’t been eating or drinking at all, so you will have to keep an eye on her. Hopefully, a few days in a real home will help perk her up.” The new girl nodded and said she would do that.
So once again, Fifi was put into a cat carrier, carried through the parking lot, and placed gently in the back seat of a car. She wasn’t aware of these things happening though, because she was so weak. She could barely lift her head.
They drove for about a half-hour, during which the new girl talked to Fifi the whole way. “I know you’re not feeling well, little girl, but I’m here to help you. I hope you like your new foster home.”
Fifi’s new foster home was light and bright, with soft carpet throughout the house, and many comfortable pieces of furniture to perch on. She was placed in a room of her own, complete with a litter box, several cat beds, a window to look out of, and several different types of food in bowls on the floor. “You feel like eating, little girl?” The new girl asked. Fifi did not. She just wanted to sleep.
After a day or so in the new foster home, Fifi started feeling more relaxed, and much safer. There was a dog in the home, but he hadn’t been allowed to see Fifi yet. They sniffed each other through the door, but the new girl knew that the best way to introduce them to each other would be by smelling each other’s smells for a few days first. Then, when Fifi started to perk up and feel better, they would finally “meet.”
Fifi started getting better, and a few days later, she was eating most of the food in her bowl. The new girl took this as a good sign. She was hopeful that the little cat was finally on the road to recovery. But then Fifi contracted a UTI and started acting lethargic and sick again. The new girl took her back to the shelter – but not for the reason you’re thinking! – so the vet on staff could give her fluids and some antibiotics to help her UTI go away.
Later that night, after the new girl brought Fifi back home from seeing the on-staff vet at the rescue, and everyone in the house was asleep, Fifi started experiencing some gastrointestinal issues. For some reason, the vet who gave Fifi’s new foster mom the antibiotics did not tell her to also give Fifi probiotics to help balance out her gut bacteria. And Fifi’s gut bacteria was angry. So angry in fact, that she had a massive poo explosion in her litter box in the middle of the night. The box did not have a lid, and the poo exploded up the wall – 5 feet up, in fact – across the tile, onto the carpet, and all over poor little Fifi. Then, Fifi proceeded to track the poo all over the house, across all the furniture, and even onto the windowsill where she liked to sit.
When the human woke up the next day, she went to look for Fifi to put her back in her designated room (Fifi and the pup in the house still hadn’t met each other yet) which is when she discovered the poo-explosion mess. She was shocked. “Fifi, how did such a little kitty make such a horrible, massive mess?!” She immediately called the carpet cleaners, who came out a few hours later and cleaned up the carpet and all the furniture. Fifi also was given her first bath, because she was caked with poo, all up and down her legs, between her toes, and even on her tail.
This happened not once, but twice, if you can believe it. But the girl did not “call it quits” and take Fifi back to the rescue. Instead, she did her research and found some probiotics that would help Fifi’s tummy. She also switched her food, which helped a lot. A few days after the second poo explosion incident (and yes, the carpet cleaners came twice!), Fifi was finally acting like a normal cat, wanting to play, eating, and drinking. “I think it’s time for you to meet your foster brother, Rambo,” The new girl said. Fifi wasn’t so sure about it, but what choice did she have? At least there was a lot of furniture she could jump up onto if she needed to get away from the dog at any point.
The new girl opened the door to Fifi’s room, and a small (but still bigger than Fifi) dog came barreling into the room. He had only seen a cat from afar before, and he was very excited to see and smell one up close. He was so excited that he actually licked her – it looked like he was trying to taste her, which didn’t sit well with Fifi. She ran and jumped up onto the back of a chair, and sat there the rest of the day, while the dog sat on the floor, looking up at her and occasionally barking in an attempt to convince her to get down. No way, Fifi thought. This mongrel wants to EAT me!
And so it went for a week in Fifi’s new foster home. But Fifi was not scared. She had her high places – like the back of the chair, the couch, her cat perch – and her low places – like under the bed – to get away from the dog when she wanted. The dog kept trying to lick her, and Fifi just kept going to her “safe places” to get away from him. The new girl was concerned that Fifi and the dog wouldn’t get along, but she decided to give it time. “Maybe they’ll figure out how to coexist,” she thought.
Then, a few days later – we’re not totally sure exactly what day or moment this change occurred – but Fifi and the dog started to get along. Sure, he would chase her occasionally (all in good fun), but she would bat him (without claws). When they got tired of playing and chasing, they would lay down on opposite sides of the room for a nap. Somehow they began to coexist, and Fifi spent more time on the floor than trying to escape to her high places.
But Fifi knew this wouldn’t be forever. She knew what “foster home” meant. It meant that she’d go someplace else after this, and have to get used to a new home and a new family all over again. Fifi was sad, and a little scared, because she really started to like this home, even with the annoying little dog wanting to play all the time.
About a month into living with her new foster family, Fifi found herself being put back into a cat carrier and driven back to the rescue. “Oh no, not again,” she thought sadly. But upon arriving at the rescue, she was not taken out of the carrier like she was before when her first owner abandoned her. No one referred to her as “a new surrender” like the last time. She had no idea what was going on. But then she heard someone say “adoption fee” and “microchip” and “sign here, here and here.” “We are so thrilled that you’re a foster fail!” the lady at the rescue said to the new girl. “Me too,” the new girl said. “Even though it was a tough road, and there were a few poo explosions involved, it was worth it. And Fifi is just such an amazing cat, we couldn’t not adopt her!”
As it turns out, Fifi was brought back to the rescue only because that was the protocol for a foster parent when they are adopting their foster pet. They have to see that you still have the cat or dog. When they saw Fifi, they commented on how beautiful and “filled out” she looked – which was a compliment, because she was a skinny minny when she had left the rescue just a month earlier.
Then once again, Fifi was back in the car, but this time she was on her freedom ride home. The new girl, who she now calls “her human,” talked to her the whole way. She told Fifi what a good girl she was. How proud she was of her. How excited her brother Rambo was to have a sibling (which was not 100% the truth, but it’s okay, he got used to the idea after a while!). She even said, “Fifi, you are just so beautiful, and your eyes are so blue, I think I have to make an Instagram for you!” The dog already had his own Instagram and Facebook page (with over 300,000 followers) so Fifi was excited to hear that she would be receiving special treatment, too.
Over the next few months, Fifi became more and more a part of their little family. Sure, there were hiccups: a hairball barf here, a ruined corner of the sofa there (thanks to Fifi thinking it was a scratching post) and some middle-of-the-night yowling on occasion (when you’re hungry, you’re hungry – am I right?!).
But all in all, things were good. Very good. And Fifi felt safe, and loved, and happy. She had food in her bowl, clean water to drink, toys galore, many perches around the house, a human who loved scratching her ears, and a doggie brother who liked to play. She even had an Instagram where her human posted cute photos of her for the world to see! Fifi started to learn how to pose for the camera (from watching her big brother, no doubt) and eventually permitted her human to dress her up in sunglasses and even a shirt or sweater once in a while. All in exchange for delicious treats, of course (or else she would NOT be game).
Fifi quickly developed a sweet, goofy, and regal personality. “A down-to-earth Derp Queen” as the human describes her as. On social media, Fifi is referred to as “the queen” in a joking kind of way. But in her new home, her regal position is no joke: she is truly the ruler of the house, and her human and the dog wouldn’t have it any other way!
Fifi’s life may have had a hard start, and she went through a lot of trials to get to where she is today. But it was worth it, because she found her forever home, and is treated like the queen she truly is, each and every single day.

Author:  Courtney C.

Shady Pet Awards/Notes:

  • Rescue Pet!
  • Pets Gone Shady (Series 2) Green #2 – Shady Cat Card.