A 3-legged wonder kitten changed her fur color throughout her journey to finding her dream home.
Earlier this year, Jin's Bottle Babies, a kitten rescue in Phoenix, Arizona, took in a litter of five kittens who had been found near an apartment complex.
A Good Samaritan spotted them all tangled up together under a bush when they were just newborns. There was no sign of a mother cat, and the kittens (four black and one grey) were immediately taken into foster care.
Peggy, the runt of the litter, was in rough shape and started fading. "Her (back) leg had been constricted by the umbilical cord and was already falling off, so I offered to help her," Shelbi Uyehara, the founder of Jin's Bottle Babies, told Love Meow.
Shelbi took the weakest baby into her care, while the lady who'd found the kittens, volunteered to foster the rest of the litter.
With one-on-one critical care, Peggy was brought back from the brink and perked up. She was able to reunite with her siblings, and the five kittens came to Shelbi's home to continue their foster journey.
Around 3-4 weeks of age, Shelbi noticed a drastic change in fur color for some of the kittens, and Peggy's was the most extreme case of all.
It's hard to pinpoint if the smokey color was the result of a "fever coat," which occurs when the cat mother is under stress or falls ill during pregnancy.
"The verdict is still out on if it is a 'fever coat' that appeared later, or if they're a smoke coated litter because they all still have their smokey wisps," Shelbi told Love Meow.
Peggy grew a layer of grey throughout her original black fur, and looked as if she had morphed into a tiny wolf.
Over the next few weeks, Peggy and her siblings continued to make healthy gains and reached one milestone after another. Their fur color gradually turned darker.
Despite having just three paws, Peggy held her own whenever she played with her siblings.
She was a bona-fide mischief-maker and had plenty of tricks up her sleeves. Being the runt didn't faze her, as she always tried to outrun her siblings and even the resident cats.
Watch Peggy the kitten in this cute video:
Peggy was living on three paw (with a peg leg) until she needed to undergo an amputation surgery to ensure the best quality of life.
"She came home from surgery as if business was usual, and tried to run around a bit. She then took a long cat nap and woke up the next morning like she'd been a three legged kitty all her life, and was running around like a pro," Shelbi shared with Love Meow.
While Shelbi and her family were working on home remodeling, Peggy would hop up to them and try to offer a helping paw.
"She would walk right up to me while I was hammering things or using loud tools to make sure I was doing it right, or to lay in my lap to make sure I took a break," Shelbi told Love Meow. "Having her around made the craziness of the past three months so fun, special and sweet."
When all of her siblings went to their forever homes, Peggy was still eagerly awaiting the right family to come find her.
A few days ago, Peggy finally had her dream come true. "It makes me so happy that she is in a home with people who are so receptive and caring," Shelbi shared with Love Meow.
"She has three other cat siblings, one of whom is just one year old, and two dog siblings, and a house full of amazing humans. There will always be a human there to let her snuggle in their laps."
It's been an incredible journey from being found outside all tangled up to being loved and spoiled at their forever homes.
Peggy has blossomed into a gorgeous panther kitty, wearing her beautiful fluffy coat with sprinkles of grey, dazzling under the sun.
"Her life has been anything but normal with us from the very beginning, but she's purred and swished her cute little tail through it all," Shelbi said.
"As much as I loved Peggy, the biggest and most rewarding paycheck for all the hard work is sending her off to a home like hers."
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