Biff, a gorgeous ginger cat, has won Cats Protection’s Brighton & District Branch’s first photo competition, proving that #PurrfectlyImperfect cats can be lovely.
Eve Plumridge, who adopted Biff after he had a tough start in life, took the photo of the seven-year-old.
Biff was discovered injured in Birmingham by a member of the public, and it is suspected that he had been hit by a car. He was transferred to a nearby RSPCA shelter for intensive treatment.
Biff was diagnosed with Feline Immunodeficiency Virus (FIV), the cat version of Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV), after having an eye removed and a metal plate placed into his jaw. This meant he would have to be an indoor cat. He needed five months to thoroughly recuperate from his ordeal and be ready to relocate.
Eve had originally planned on adopting an FIV cat and views meeting Biff as “fortunate.”
“I knew I’d want a furry companion when I moved out of the family home and into my own house in May 2019,” Eve said. “Because we don’t have access to any outside area, it felt like the perfect opportunity to bring a purrfectly flawed babe into the house.”
“I’d been ready to acquire a cat pretty much from the beginning, but I knew I’d have an operation coming up a double jaw joint replacement, that would need a good six or more weeks off work, and I saw that as the ideal time to be able to settle a cat into my home.” I began looking online during the first half of my rehabilitation after returning home from the Queen Elizabeth Hospital in Birmingham.
“The RSPCA highlighted Mr. Wiggles on their website. They featured two photos of this shy little seven-year-old FIV+ ginger kid, as well as a story that broke and stole my heart. After appearing to be hit by a car, he was discovered by a member of the public. His ruptured eye was infested with flies, he had maggots on the roof of his mouth, and he had a shattered jaw, which doctors had to repair with a piece of metal. They believe he’d been wandering in that state for a while. I knew I’d found my soulmate as soon as I read that words. Then I noticed where he was recuperating… a 15-minute drive from my own metal jaw check-up the next week. I scheduled a meeting with him, and the rest is history!”
Mr. Biff Wiggles, now renamed Mr. Biff Wiggles and living in Brighton with Eve and her boyfriend, didn’t take long to settle in, and his missing eye doesn’t hold him back at home.
“Apart from making him a little more awkward – he’s at odds with one specific door corner – it doesn’t really slow him down in my flat.” Despite the fact that I have a spiral staircase, he still manages to charge up and down it with confidence during his post-poop zoomies!
“Biff became famous for his ‘dinner dance’ while healing at the RSPCA hospital. While he waits for you to bring his meal, he enjoys bouncing from one foot to the next and twirling around your legs. He has fairly huge, webbed feet, which adds to the cuteness.”
Eve was likewise well-prepared to care for a FIV cat after conducting extensive research before to getting Biff.
“On Instagram, I follow a lot of cat accounts, including trap, neuter, and return (TNR) and fosterer accounts. These testimonies highlight the genuine reality of their day-to-day work, the impact of kitten season, and the development of diseases like FIV. It was intimidating to follow them at first, compared to the usual popular ‘famous cat’ accounts, but I learned so much from them, including the necessity of neutering and the impact of FIV on a cat’s life, which isn’t as frightening as it appears!
“I was aware that Biff’s FIV status made him more susceptible to disease and infection, and that he should be kept indoors to prevent him from getting anything and spreading FIV to other cats.” I just have to stay on top of things like making sure he has plenty of water to keep his liver healthy and not allowing him to eat anything other than his own meal (plus a Dreamie or five!).
“I also get a lot of help from Biff’s Instagram buddies, who are largely fellow FIV cats and their humans,” says the author. We do a lot of sharing around here.
“It’s critical that people learn about diseases like FIV and realize that these cats may be just as loving, if not more so.” One of the primary concerns individuals have when adopting FIV animals, in my experience, is the influence on the cat’s life expectancy. During my investigation, I uncovered an important fact: FIV-positive cats have a life expectancy comparable to non-infected cats! Knowing this, why wouldn’t you adopt a FIV cat if you were in a position to do so?!”
Eve has been on leave from her job since lockdown began, and she has been enjoyed capturing Biff’s antics around the house.
“Biff is a creature of habit, and he’s enjoyed having my partner and me around him all the time. He knows when to wake us up for breakfast in the morning and when it’s time for his 6 p.m. meal, he’s standing in the kitchen staring at us.
“I honestly believe it has made him feel more at ease and secure.” There’s a lot less that scares him around the house now, though we still haven’t figured out how to include the hoover!”
