Who, me? Turnip the three-legged cat denies any inclination towards mischief.
Who, me? Turnip the three-legged cat denies any inclination towards mischief.
Turnip the Cat has three legs, a tonne of personality and a story of woe that would just break your heart.
And he’s looking for a new home where his quirks will be embraced - along with the rest of him because Turnip does enjoy a good smooch.
Turnip’s current carer, Gina, took him on after he was found abandoned under a house.
“New tenants had moved into a house in Takapau and realised there was a cat there, living under the house. They found out the previous tenants had just... left him there.
“The new tenants had dogs and didn’t want to add a three-legged tabby cat to the mix so when we found out about him we brought him home.”
Turnip - in "Mr Turnip" mode - turning on the charm.
Gina already had a cat - Haggis.
“Haggis is 11 and he had been one of two cats, until our other one died. Haggis got very sad about losing his friend and because he’s an older cat I didn’t want him to be sad, so I thought I’d get him a new friend.”
Gina says “it appears Haggis prefers to choose his own friends. He did bring a stray cat home once, but she promptly had kittens, waited until Haggis had helped bring them up and we’d rehomed them all, then she left and was never seen again.
“Perhaps it’s the age gap as we think Turnip is only a couple of years old, but he is a bit bouncy for Haggis. They don’t fight, but Turnip can be a bit enthusiastic and Haggis is over it. He’s spending more time away from the house and that’s not ideal.”
Turnip has a few enthusiasms: He likes to zoom all over the house, he loves attention and is very affectionate, and he’s awfully keen to share his keyboard skills if someone is on the computer.
He wasn’t Turnip when he arrived at Gina’s but because Haggis was, well, Haggis, the family decided he needed a name that went with Haggis. So Turnip he is. Mr Turnip when he’s being well-behaved, and Dick Turnip when he isn’t.
Gina says she doesn’t know what happened to Turnip’s hind leg, he just came that way: three-legged.
“Sometimes when my grandaughter’s going outside I’ll say ‘while you’re out there can you have a look for Turnip’s leg?’ But he doesn’t seem to miss it, he plays zoomies around the house just fine without it.”
She says Turnip would be the perfect addition for someone who perhaps is home all day and wants company... although he copes just fine when the family is at work. He’s de-sexed, house-trained and pretty much all you’d want in a cat, Gina says... unless you’re Haggis.
“Haggis will just have to make do with the neighbourhood cats as friends... he can retire and sit around and not be bopped on the head by a bouncy young cat who wants attention, he’ll be just fine.”
If you have a space for a three-legged tabby cat with bags of personality, message the CHB Mail on Facebook or email editorial@chbmail.co.nz and we’ll put you in touch with your potential new furry house-mate.
