A Tale of Two Kitties

"To be honest I think it would be really good for Parker to have the other kittens to play with (so he doesn't keep beating up Piper! ) and Piper can just be a Mommy's and Daddy's boy - he's a real sweetie. Why don't I bring them over as suggested on Saturday morning and you can give them a try?"

This is what the woman who originally owned Parker and Piper wrote when I was negotiating their adoption with her some three years ago. I wanted to offer the two sight-impaired kittens (one with only one eye and the other with none at all) a permanent home, but was concerned about their safety as we already had two cats, also adopted ones, which were not the friendliest in the world. Would it be a problem especially when we were not around during the daytime, I wondered. And the above was what the woman's said.

The remarks of the woman, who had only spent a few weeks with Parker and Piper when they were babies after picking them out of a rubbish bin, turned out to be prophetic. Parker is an affectionate cat who does not have an ounce of malice in his blood, but this rascal with boundless energy likes to boss around, and Piper is always an easy target. Parker provokes every cat in the home, including Fred and Francis, even when he was a little kitten and only half the size of those two. But probably because of the family bond, Piper remains his favourite playmate - or plaything, depends how you look at it. And every time it is Parker starting the fight, mostly by walking over Piper and stamping on him. Now Piper is the probably gentlest cat you will ever see, but he is also the bravest. He wouldn't let Parker get away with any abuse. He fights back like a lion. Given that he cannot see and that he is much less sturdy than his elder brother, seeking to get even with the exceptionally agile Parker is a tall order. But seeing them try to tear each other apart, or so it seems, you would never notice that Piper is handicapped.

And, definitely, Piper is "a Mommy's and Daddy's boy", not only because he is "a real sweetie", but also because he is the youngest, tiniest and most disadvantaged cat in the home and deserves that extra dose of love and care.