The Rescued Interviews: Piggy

Meows from Mudpie!

Back in 2015 Angel Truffles started interviewing the cats featured in Rescued: The Stories of 12 Cats, Through Their Eyes, an anthology of rescue cat stories compiled by Janiss Garza, who writes the Sparkle Cat blog. She was unable to see it to completion but I was more than honored to continue the series once I settled into my forever home and took full reins of our blog. Now Rescued Volume 2 is on store shelves and it's my goal to interview as many of the kitties as possible once again! (If you missed our review, it can be found here.)

Each author featured in the book has nominated a cat rescue and was assigned a month to promote the book, with a third of the profits from that month going to their rescue. May's spotlight is Piggy, a social media superstar and author of her very own book! Piggy went through a lot early in her life, but she sure hit the jackpot with the family she's living with today!

Welcome Piggy! Thank you so much for taking time to chat with me today. Could you start by introducing yourself to us and telling us what made your story such a good fit for the Rescued anthology?

Hello Mudpie and Melissa. Thank you so much for having me as a guest on your pawsome blog. I got my start in life as a cat that was unwanted and neglected. My mistrust of humans made me shy and backward for a very long time. With the love of a really wonderful Daddy, however, I became a sassy Facebook diva and food connoisseur. What some people don’t know about me is that I also am an author and poet. There’s a fiction book that I helped co-write, simply called “Piggy” about the fun adventures of me and a crazy mouse named Melvin. I was kind enough to let my human make it into the story as well. On my Facebook page, I post pictures and writings daily about me and my sister cat Goober’s true antics. Every so often, if you’re lucky, I will break into rhyme with some really silly poetry. We love making people laugh. I think with my writing being a mixture of poignant and humorous was why it was a good fit for the Rescued anthology.

Your "tail" of going from an abused and neglected, seemingly unwanted cat to a Facebook diva really touched our hearts. Without giving away too much, how did you find your way to your forever human, Matt?

Matt’s Uncle Rick adopted me and my step-sister cat, Vision a few years back. We both had come from deplorable conditions. One of the saddest things was that I actually had a litter of kittens that I was unable to nurse due to being malnourished. I think that may be why I am so motherly. Anyway, I’m getting away from the question. Matt was staying with his uncle for a while. Both of them were wonderful. However I couldn’t resist Matt’s playful attitude, sense of humor, and the warm, cuddly covers on his bed. We bonded so much that when he made the decision to buy his own house, it was never a question of where my loyalty lay. I said goodbye to Uncle Rick and began a new adventure with Matt.

Given your name, I take it food is very important to you, likely because you went hungry for so long. What are some of your favorite things to nosh on and how do you have fun with your reputation as a food connoisseur? 

My love of food is what actually gave the humans the idea of what they jokingly wanted to call me. Then of course, the name stuck. And yes, once I began having bowls filled to the brim with cat chow, and all the treats a kitty could want, I put aside worrying about my figure and gave in to the chubby girl within. I’m living proof that a lady does not have to be a stick figure to have a slew of gentleman cats calling upon her.

I am particularly fond of crunchy cheesy Doritos, and Spaghettio’s, those tasty little rings of pasta. On occasion, my newer step-sister Goober and I are known to heist chicken, hot dogs, pretty much anything Matt leaves unattended for a few minutes.

Your dad's job is so cool!!! Tell our readers why the name of your story in the anthology is "The Claw Machine Cat".

Grammy Karen, my co-writer and Matt’s mom, tells me that he has been obsessed with skill crane machines in arcades since he was a little kid. He was always really good at winning plush toys.

Matt went to college for filmmaking, and when he got his first job, decided to save enough money to purchase his own claw machine. He began studying it from the inside out and filmed himself as a “teacher” of sorts on how to become better at winning prizes. With his talent, he began putting arcade videos on YouTube and the rest is history. My Daddy actually does this for a living has almost one million subscribers now. I’m pretty proud of him.

How did you become a social media superstar?

When Matt’s YouTube popularity skyrocketed, many of his fans began to send letters, cards and gifts. Then I noticed that a lot of the mail was for me! Kids were drawing really neat pictures of me and sending little treats and toys also. Matt made me my own Facebook and YouTube accounts to keep up with all of the new friends. I’m very fortunate to be so loved by people from all over the world actually.

What shelter have you chosen to receive your proceeds from the book this month and why?

Since I feel very blessed to live in a nice, warm home and to have such a wonderful human that adores me, I think about all the feral cats out there that aren’t so fortunate. I’ve chosen My Ferals of Evansville, Indiana. They are a non- profit agency committed to helping feral cats live better lives through trap/neuter/return and bringing awareness and education to the community concerning feral/stray cats. Miss Jeannie, their human, has a heart filled with gold and catnip!

What do you hope people learn from your story and what would you like your lasting legacy to be?

We want people to come away knowing that their kindness to an animal in large or small ways can make a difference. Never pass up a shelter pet because they aren’t pretty enough or outgoing enough. Some of us average-looking shy kitties have the biggest hearts and just want to be loved and to show love.

Also, laugh a little every day. Because me and my human are all about making kids happy, we hope that by our story, others will want to follow in my pawprints and make a difference too.

Visit Piggy on Facebook

Piggy's YouTube Channel

Matt's YouTube Channel

Buy Piggy's Book on Amazon