HRH: Her Royal Highness

Fiona’s pink bed was made for her. With sparkly hearts on the side and her name on the back, it is the perfect fit for her fluffball body. Yes, we know it doesn’t actually say “Fiona.” What is does say is “Princess” and that is what our girl is: A Royal Feline From the Kingdom of Fluffdom.

We think Fiona is some kind of Maine Coon/Norwegian Forest Cat Mix. She has the tabby “M” on her forehead and tufts of hair sprouting out her ears like a little old man. She also has the best personality, loving to sit in your lap as long as you will let her. She is shy whenever we take her to PetSmart and infuriates us because she doesn’t let anyone see her true personality. As soon as we release her from her “jail cell” at PetSmart and take her home, she struts about as if to say, “I knew you couldn’t live without me. Why do you continue to take me to that place?”

Yes, this is my, "I'll put up with you" smirk. Do my bidding, underling.

Besides Suzy and Winston (our pirate cat and his fuzzy girlfriend), Miss Fi-Fi, as we lovingly call her, has been with us the longest of any of our fosters. And we just don’t understand why. She is gorgeous and sweet and loves any warm lap. But getting her to show her true nature when she doesn’t like her environment is tough to do. We often say that she must be waiting for the most wonderful family in the world. She knows that they are coming, but she is letting them take their good old time, content with us.

But she wasn’t always that content or happy.

Fiona came to us from a farm. A lady found her running around with a tuna can on her head. Fiona had been so hungry she stuck her head in the can and then could not get the blasted thing off no matter how much she tossed her head around. With her tuna hat in place, Fiona had to be trapped before it could be removed. Perhaps due to the “tuna can terror” and other bad memories, when Fiona first became a foster, she was a bit standoffish and didn’t really like a lot of interaction.

After she went in for a dental procedure, however, that all changed.

While she was under anesthesia to have her teeth cleaned, Fiona had a reaction to one of the drugs, which caused a drug burn. Large tufts of her hair began to fall out. Strangely, one of those bare spots formed the shape of a perfect pink heart. We said it was Fiona wearing her heart for all the world to see so she could finally find her family.

The drug burn caused Fiona to need lots of extra care. Her wounds had to be soaked and washed. She had to wear a baby’s onesie to keep the wounds clean. She was held and carried and tossed about numerous times a day by loving human hands. And it had a wonderful effect on our formerly fickle girl–she became the sweetest diva ever!

The drug burn changed Fiona in very dramatic ways. Never in the past would she have let us dress her up. Over this past year, she has endured all our humiliating photo shots–bunny ears and pirate hats (she borrowed Winston’s) and Santa caps. She gets dragged along for all our adoption events and always receives the most attention even when she doesn’t want it. Usually at the events, she just wants to sit in someone’s lap and be held. She loves people. She loves getting a rub down and being brushed. She is our purring lap cat. That drug burn truly did expose her heart to us.

And it is time for her to find her people and give them her heart. She has been a foster too long. It is time for her to know what it is like to be a “kept” woman, owned and loved beyond the boundaries of our love. She deserves to be someone’s favorite, someone’s reason for getting up even when they are sick.

Ready to spend her days looking out another window in her forever home.

The drug burn has healed, the hair has all grown back in now, and Fiona is still waiting. But the wait is coming to an end. It is Fiona’s time to find her family.

If you know anyone who is looking for a cat with Queenly behavior or if you would like an “HRH,” please consider Fiona. She is fine with other cats. In fact, she mostly ignores them as long as they don’t pick on her. She hides from the dogs who approach her cage at PetSmart, but we think she would adjust to a docile dog, too. She would probably be best in a quiet home with lots of windows for daily bird watching.

And, oh, yes, she must have her very own bed with sparkly hearts and her name embroidered in pink.

Fi-Feye-Fo-Fum–Fiona Wants Her Forever Home.