Last week I admitted I’ve added yet another cat to my furry four-legged menagerie. Crazy? Let’s go with no. Insane? Possibly. I’ll let you be the judge, even though last week I asked you not to judge me. So I guess what I actually am is a hypocrite.

I had hoped my feeble attempt to tug at your heartstrings would win you over so you’d see I’m a regular person who happens to love animals sometimes more than people. Now don’t get me wrong; mostly I think people are fine and dandy. In fact, I’m quite fond of many of them.

But with my cats and dogs, I love pretty much everything about them — how trusting they are, how excited they get greeting me at the door when I’ve only been gone an hour, how they love me unconditionally and follow me around the house like ducklings trailing their mom. I could go on but I’ll spare you.

So three months into fostering my latest feral kitten, I suspected she was going to join the rest of my failed fosters. She seemed more comfortable with me but often ran when I entered the room. She’d sit on my lap but any sudden movement by yours truly and, like one of those flying squirrels, she’d be airborne and hiding before I could blink.

But then there were days she’d fall asleep in my lap and then just as quickly walk on my keyboard for attention. She lets me pet her belly but not pick her up. Yes, reality was staring me in the face; this cat was too feral for adoption yet too friendly to live as a feral. So…

Until that realization, I hadn’t named her. I had every expectation she’d be adopted at Marin Humane. For me, naming them makes it more difficult to give them away. So for a while, I called her Monkey Face or Little Missy and sometimes Hey You. But a few days ago I settled on Piper.

Piper spent a couple of months in my office before venturing out to meet the others who she’d been playing footsie with under the door. It was time for her to learn the ropes. Savannah barely batted an eye when they met face to face. She simply strolled past Piper to see what toys were in the room she’d been banned from for months.

Skye did the same, a quick look her way and if she could shrug her shoulders, she would have.

Mango seemed curious but being a true scaredy cat, kept her distance.

Oliver groaned but I believe he intended it to be a growl.

Jack sniffed her, then plopped down to wait for dinner.

Only Dash seemed truly agitated by her presence but he’s coming around. I even caught him following her the other day. Or was it stalking?

Piper is currently learning which food bowls are hers. When she attempted to eat from Oliver’s, he let her know he’s head honcho and gave her a swat, followed by a stare that said, don’t you know who I am?

Piper took it in stride, stepping away to eat from Jack’s bowl. But as you can tell, Jack’s strong suit isn’t sharing. He gave her “the look” and she moved on. A quick study, she’s learning her position in the hierarchy.

There’s never a dull moment around here with 11 pets and often a foster or two. My house seems to have a perpetual layer of fur on the floor, no matter how often I vacuum. And barely a day passes when I don’t almost step on a hairball or something much worse.

Still, while I’m cleaning up their messes, I realize I’d rather live in a full (but sometimes messy) home than live alone in an immaculate one. Call me insane, but I choose messy.

Welcome to the family, Piper!