Gigi is a cat with a cause. For the last four years, the rescue cat has donned the finest of the cat-sized children’s clothing for “Purrfectly Gigi” calendars and cards to raise money for the Lung Cancer Colorado Fund at Anschutz Medical Campus.
Gigi’s owner, Ron Hudgens, of Loveland, and his daughter, Reagan Hudgens, of San Francisco, Calif., use the project to honor their late wife and mother, Dorothy Hudgens.
“The organizer and the energy behind this is pretty much Reagan,” Ron said.
And, of course, Gigi, who came to the family through the fostering program at the Larimer Humane Society.
“I am not a big a cat person as my wife was, but when you foster cats, you kind of fall in love with them and you don’t want to let them go,” Ron said.
Although they had fostered a few more at the time, it was the very social Gigi and the very skittish Peach that became permanent.
“My mom felt Gigi was too homely of kitten and wouldn’t get adopted,” Reagan said.
The calendars and cards started in 2013 when both Ron, a U.S. Navy veteran and retired intellectual property lawyer, and Dorothy, a retired junior high reading and English teacher, were diagnosed with two different forms of cancer. Dorothy had lung cancer.
“When my parents got sick, I was going to do a calendar for them with Gigi pictures, and I said, would you be open to doing it as a fundraiser?,” Reagan said.
The mother-daughter team wanted to do something that had more uplifting images to associate with lung cancer and research for it.
“It was very depressing. It would be lungs, it would be ashtrays, very negative. There was such a stigma around the disease and we wanted to do something that was positive, and Gigi was here and willing,” Reagan said.
Dorothy was a nonsmoker, so the family was shocked by the diagnosis.
“We were really surprised because we thought if you didn’t smoke, you wouldn’t get lung cancer and that’s not the case,” Reagan said.
Over the course of the Dorothy’s treatment, they would learn the statistics of the disease. As reported by the Lung Cancer Foundation, 433 people die every day from lung cancer, and lung cancer is the leading cause of cancer death for women in the United States, killing twice as many as breast cancer.
After 57 years of marriage, Dorothy passed away on May 13, 2014.
“I fully support this because (Dorothy) was a dear person. She was dearly liked by neighbors, friends and relatives. She was Scotch-Irish, so she always spoke her mind and people like that,” Ron said.
“Dorothy was a wonderful woman, wife and friend. Everything beautiful I could say about her, she was,” he added.
Gigi’s modeling career started with pictures that Dorothy would send to Reagan of the hats she knitted for babies in the hospitals. Gigi didn’t mind being dressed up, so over the past four years, the clothes have gotten a little more sophisticated.
“(Reagan) wanted to have her dress up with some dignity,” Ron said. “We treat the cat like a model. She dresses as a model, not a cat.”
“She has a really expressive face, I think, but we wanted for her to have more human traits,” Reagan said.
The photo shoots take place at home, and Gigi decides when they are over. The clothes never stay on her for longer than necessary.
The theme for this year was “Portraits” with quotes chosen by Ron under each photo.
“We had three to five themes that we were toying with last year, it really comes down to what do we have to put on her and what quotes do we have,” Reagan said.
Gigi gets treats when she wears the clothes, just as she does when practicing her other tricks like jumping through hoops, playing piano and giving high-fives.
Reagan chose Lung Cancer Colorado Fund to give to because both Ron and Dorothy saw doctors at Anschutz Medical Campus, and administrative fees are not taken out so more goes to research. The family also knows that whatever advancements are made from this research could help other forms of cancer.
“We wanted to give to something smaller where our gift might be a little more meaningful,” Reagan said.
So far, the family has been able to donate about $5,000 to the cause. They started by selling cards to friends and family. Word of mouth has led to more sales and Ron’s other daughter, Colby, sells the cards year-round in her shop, Art Gallery and Framing, in Laguna Niguel, Calif.
“I am proud of what the calendar represents and proud of what Reagan did. Dorothy would be proud of that, too,” Ron said.
Gigi’s 2018 calendars are for sale for $20, plus shipping. The price of the cards varies. All monies beyond the cost of printing are donated.
To learn more or to see the Etsy shop with the cards, go to purrfectlygigi.com or instagram.com/purrfectlygigi. To purchase a calendar, email Reagan at purrfectlygigi@gmail.com.
Michelle Vendegna: 970-699-5407, vendegnam@reporterherald.com
