Tater Tot has broken the Internet with his fur-ious apurrance. You’ve seen the memes and the art, but now it’s time to get up close and purrsonal with the Tot himself.
KATNISS: You were rescued just a day or two after you were born. You were very furtunate to have been discovfured in your feral colony.
TATER TOT: You’re not kitten – but at the time, I didn’t know what was going on, I was just a cranky puss.
KATNISS: The rescue group, Kitty CrusAIDe, realized you were diffurent. You wouldn’t latch onto a bottle because you have a cleft palate, which makes it impawsible fur you to nurse.
TATER TOT: Yeah, that’s when they started wrapping me up in a purrito and tube feeding me. Which they’re going to have to do for the furseeable future. HISS!
KATNISS: I’ve interviewed a lot of special needs cats – handicats – and have become an advo-cat fur those with challenges. I understand all your arms and legs are malfurmed.
TATER TOT: Another thing to be MAD about! Yeah, my arms were stuck at a downward 90-degree angle and my legs are curly.
KATNISS: So now you’ve got an orthopedic specialist who’s put your arms in splints, or what the Internet has dubbed “bonkers.”
TATER TOT: Yeah, and if the bonkers do the job, then they won’t need to purrform surgery.
KATNISS: They are purrty stylish, TT. And as fur your back legs…?
TATER TOT: They need to wait a few months until my bones are dense enough to show up on an x-ray. Then my servants can plan fur the next steps.
KATNISS: Purrt of the reason people have been drawn to you – and are drawing you – is because you look so grompy. Are you?
artist: Cole McClure
art by Julia Green
art by Mikayla Simpson
@ArtByKayRae
art by Mordecye Belliston
TATER TOT: I AM! Hear meowt – if mew were constantly pooping on yourself because you were still trying to figure out your body, and then you were BLOW-DRIED until your hair stood up in a fire-colored poof and people thought that was CUTE, you’d be grompy, too. Makes me wanna commit furst degree purrder. Just kitten. Not really. Grrr.
KATNISS: So tell me, Tot, what can your newfound fans and followers do to suppurt you?
TATER TOT: I think I’d be less likely to FLY INTO A RAGE if people could suppurrt Kitty CrusAIDe. They have Venmo (@kitty-crusaide), PayPal (@kittycrusaide) and a rescue wishlist. There’s also a Donor Program where people can sponsor me(ow) or other cats at the rescue.
KATNISS: Pawsome! My entire feed is filled with TT content and right meow, I gotta say I’m feline it.
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Over the last year I adopted a kitty that had a severe cleft palate and had surgery to repair it…please reach out if you or the owner needs any information about his surgery. Chewy is almost 2 now and 14 lbs of happy kitty!
Aw, Chewy! So good to hear! I will pass on this information!