Frank Furko and Pudgie Wudgie
The story of Frank Furko and Pudgie Wudgie the Wonder Cat is one of the coolest, most unique Pittsburgh stories I’ve ever come across. Given all the time I spend reading and scrolling through Reddit and Pittsburgh Post Gazette archives looking for topics to discuss on this platform, the fact that I’m only just coming across these two is disappointing.
Photo courtesy of: http://www.pudgiewudgie.com
On a cold winter day in 1986, Frank Furko walked into the Animal Rescue League in Pittsburgh, thinking he would take a look at the dogs and maybe adopt one if he could find one that was nice. While he was there, a little, pudgy, orange tabby cat caught his eye. The volunteer told Frank that the kitten was to be put down if he wasn’t adopted soon, and Frank walked out of there that day with his new friend, Pudgie.
Frank realized quickly that his new friend wasn’t your average house cat. Soon after adopting Pudgie, Frank taught him how to jump through hoops, answer a small phone, and crawl through a box. Eventually, Pudgie would graduate from these rudimentary tricks and move on to more complicated ones such as miniature bowling, golfing, and kicking a football.
One day, while Frank was waiting to get his driver's license photo taken at a library in a nearby town, he struck up a conversation with a preschool teacher. He explained that he had this odd little kitten that he had taught to do various tricks and offered to bring him to the school to perform for the children. The teacher agreed, and the performance went so well that the teachers invited the two back again; this time with a reporter from the Pittsburgh Post Gazette there to observe and write a piece on this oddball duo. Pudgie’s feline fame really took a significant leap after his first birthday, when Frank jokingly put a party hat on his head, and the cat didn’t mind. Frank added a pair of lensless glasses to complete the ensemble. As it turned out, this little tabby didn’t mind wearing costumes.
This cool ass cat didn’t mind hopping in the car, costume and all, riding around town with Frank. It didn’t take long for other local news stations and publications to follow along with his happenings. In fact, Dave Crowley from KDKA Pittsburgh featured Pudgie in one of their segments, dubbing him ‘Pudgie Wudgie the Wonder Cat’. It wasn’t long before he was a worldwide topic, getting featured on the Maury Povich show, a request from David Letterman, and a feature on Italian TV - yes, an Italian television network paid someone to travel all the way to Oakmont, PA to meet with Pudgie and Frank. Amazing.
Photo courtesy of: http://www.pudgiewudgie.com
My favorite part about this story, and what drew me to this story, has to do with the Pittsburgh Steelers, of course. Pudgie Wudgie was a certified Steeler fan. Frank would dress him up in full Steelers gear, including a jersey, sunglasses, and a little helmet, and bring him to tailgates to party with other, two-legged Steeler fans. According to Frank, Pudgie even had the honor of meeting former Steelers head coach Chuck Noll.
Pudgie’s fandom didn’t go unnoticed, as news cameras documented his participation at tailgates. Not only that, he is featured in the Western Pennsylvania Sports Museum at the Heinz History Center, with the likes of Franco Harris and Myron Cope.
There’s little-to-no doubt in my mind that Pudgie is among the coolest pets, of any species, in the history of the world. As a proud, loving cat owner, I can’t even get my cat to step outside on a leash, let alone get him to don Steelers gear and join me at rowdy tailgates. Unfortunately, Pudgie Wudgie would eventually get cancer, and in 2001 Frank Furko decided to put him down, not wanting him to suffer. Pudgie got cremated so that when it was Frank’s time, he could be buried with him. Frank’s time came on June 19th, 2019, although I can’t find anything concrete about whether or not Pudgie’s ashes were buried with him. I choose to believe they were.
Before his passing, Frank released a book, chronicling him and Pudgie’s adventures. It was called: Fourteen Years with Pudgie Wudgie, Verona, PA : Rogers & DeTurck Printing, c2006.
Photo courtesy of: http://www.pudgiewudgie.com
The two were also featured in a 2015 documentary film titled: Frank and the Wondercat, written and directed by Pablo Alvarez-Mesa and Tony Massill.
I watched the documentary in anticipation of writing about these two.
Learning about the life of Frank Furko was much more interesting than I could have expected. Furko was a straight up YINZER. He was raised on a farm, just outside the city of Pittsburgh, by his father who only knew how to work. Just a real, American, blue-collar family. And, the accent on this guy was BEAUTIFUL. In the opening seconds of the documentary, you hear Frank speaking about Pudgie on (what I presume is) a home video, and saying: “He weighs ABAHT 17 PAHNDS.” I knew, immediately, I was in for a good time. Hearing the man himself speak about his upbringing, and his various trials and tribulations, you really get a sense of why there was, seemingly, such an inseparable relationship between him and Pudgie.
As for Pudgie, there’s a line from the documentary that really stuck with me. At one point, presumably after one of the aforementioned performances at a school, a young boy chimes in and says: “Comparing him to other cats would be like comparing us to cavemen.”
If that doesn’t tell you all you need to know, consider the fact that Pudgie passed away nearly 23 years ago, and I’m only just now becoming a fan. Clearly, that pudgy, orange tabby cat has left a lasting impact on the city of Pittsburgh, and the fans of its sports teams.
All the photos and information I used in this post, was found at http://www.pudgiewudgie.com/ and/or in the Frank and the Wondercat documentary. For anyone that wants to learn more about this dynamic duo, I urge you to check both of them out! Also, a copy of Frank Furko’s book, Fourteen Years with Pudgie Wudgie, can be found in the Allegheny County Library System.
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