Piper is a beautiful, rather chunky dark brown tabby with eyes that always seem half-closed. From her earliest days at Tabby’s Place, though, Piper let us know she was wide awake – and not afraid to pipe up when she had an opinion about something.

This chattery confidence continued until Piper moved into a suite with other cats. All of a sudden, Piper was scared, hiding nearly all the time. This was her ticket to our Executive Director’s office, where she has been living the proverbial life of Riley.

Piper delights in human attention and can be downright pushy about getting it. She is fond of sitting in laps, and, if you’re petting her and she goes into “happy cat” mode, she can drool in a quantity that would shame a Norwegian Elkhound.

Piper has committed herself to not letting any food go to waste. She’s a conscientious girl in that way and does her best to make sure that not a scrap is left behind. She and roommate Knox also manage to coax an embarrassingly large number of treats out of human visitors.

Although she adores people, Piper can be iffy around other cats. She and Knox periodically engage in a feline boxing match, where they punch one another with their front paws, but then both walk away (if you ever had the Rock ‘Em Sock ‘Em Robots game as a kid, you’ll know what this looks like). We’ve also seen Piper swat at a lobby cat who sat in front of the baby gate that bars the door to our Executive Director’s office.

But why does Piper live “behind bars,” anyway? She has FIV: feline immunodeficiency virus. FIV is often misunderstood. People believe it’s an automatic early death sentence, and that FIV+ cats are constantly sickly. This is all utterly false. What is true is that FIV+ cats need excellent care; since the virus suppresses their immune systems, you have to be especially vigilant about their health. But with the right care, FIV+ kitties like Piper can live lives as long and healthy as other cats.

Piper also has a charming head tilt. We’ve been unable to diagnose a cause for it; it doesn’t seem to cause her any problems; and we do not believe it portends anything serious. Right now, Piper is not taking any medications, nor is she on a special diet.

We’d like nothing better than to find a “forever” home for this wonderful cat, but we realize her Special Needs mean that may take some time. In the meantime, we’re committed to giving her a marvelous life, even if that means she’s eating more treats than she should.