Burnaby cat in Pet Valu’s national fundraising calendar 2023

Meet Burnaby resident Fig, aka Figgy, an eight-month-old Scottish Fold-British Shorthair kitten who was crowned Mr. March for Bosley’s by Pet Valu in the 2023 calendar by Pet Valu.

Wrapped in a cozy blanket, the fluffy kitten who sleeps on its back and has a secret undying love for the freezer and the trash is a face of the month in the 2023 calendar being published across Canada by Pet Valu.

The 15 Canadian Pets Calendar is published annually and helps raise funds for pets and pet owners in need. Fig was among 15,500 entries across Canada.

To celebrate Fig and his newfound fame, his hometown Columbia Square store (1015 Columbia Street, Unit 114, New Westminster), Bosley’s by Pet Valu, is putting his winning photo on display in a large exhibit along with some fun facts about him.

Fig’s owner Natasha Wong is proud that her kitten was named one of the contest winners.

“I’m a new cat mom and he was only four months old,” Wong said. “I didn’t have landscape photos, so I almost didn’t enter.”

But fate had other plans. “The next morning I just saw Figgy sleeping on her back and just thought it was so cute. This could be my chance. So I put him under his covers and took some pictures.”

At first, she said, she didn’t think much of the result as it was a spontaneous first entry, but she was indeed delighted when Fig’s photo was chosen for the calendar.

“He’s just such a sweet and gentle boy,” Wong said. “He’s cuddly in the morning. He loves the freezer so every time we open the freezer he licks the walls of the freezer. Really weird.”

“And every time he’s hungry, he just comes up to us and just falls on the floor – pop – and shows his belly lying on the floor, which is really cute. He’s just a gentle, sweet cat.”

@itsfiggyboy day in the life of Figgy Boy #funnycats #kittensoftiktok #catsoftiktok #dayinthelife #funnypets #scottishstraight ♬ Original sound – Lachie Kay

Wong jokes that Figgy knows he’s a bit of a model — he poses for photos whenever an opportunity arises — and has his own dedicated social media following on TikTok and Instagram, with over a million views and one viral video .

Wong and her partner had Figgy when he was two months old and it was love at first sight – they knew he was the one the moment they laid eyes on him.

Alison Preiss of Pet Valu spoke about the beauty of Fig: “Fig is just snuggled up in soft linens and just the color palette with blues and beiges and oranges with that little pink nose… I just think it’s such a beautiful photo and it makes me want to go along with it.” give him a nap.”

While he’s Burnaby’s only superstar on the calendar, 12 other Canadian pets are introduced, including dogs, cats, a guinea pig, a budgie and a bearded dragon.

Other BC stars on the calendar include Yoda, the bearded dragon from Vancouver who is Mr. June.

Indie, the Vancouver Island-Nanaimo Border Collie-Australian Shepherd crossbreed, is Miss August, and Maple is from Fort St. John.

The calendars will be available at all Pet Valu stores outside of Quebec for donations. Preiss said while they don’t have goals for the national fundraiser, the calendars will be available while supplies last.

Proceeds will support Pet Valus Companions for Change initiatives, which have raised over $24 million in donations since 2010 and helped more than 42,000 homeless animals find forever families.

“We’re always amazed at how generous and wonderful our customers are,” she said. “All funds raised go towards our Companion for Change program and we want to make a big impact – things like helping build a new animal adoption center in North Bay. Some money for the Canadian Animal Task Force. They will purchase two animal assistance vehicles to help keep communities safer and $100,000 for the Edmonton Humane Society to support a mobile castration vehicle.