Birch is an all gray, medium haired young man.  Still a kitten, he loves to play and finds “toys” in common household items.  He thinks a broom is a dragon to be smited with swats and growls. He thinks slippers are either a toy box in which to drop his toys or a monster to be bested with kicks and leaps.  When he is not playing with his toys, or slippers and brooms, he loves playing with the resident cats.  He has three to choose from and he often goes from one to the other. Running, wrestling, jumping, stalking – and they love playing with him. He is a gentle, sweet playmate.

You see, Birch is very much a cat’s cat. He loves other cats.  He nuzzles them and hangs with them.  He is not only friendly with the resident cats but also with the other fosters who have come through his foster home. It’s people who scare him.

Birch was found outside when he was about 4 months old.  We believe he was born outside and may be the only surviving kitten of his litter. That means he had no human touch or friendly human interaction for almost half his life.  When he first came to his foster home, he was hissy, spitty, swatty, and just plain terrified.  But with patience, time, and love, his foster has been able to break through his defenses. He now has the run of the house, sits on the couch close to her, and even sleeps on the bed with the other cats. He often follows his foster around the house – keeping his distance but always curious about what she’s doing. And he has taught himself to play fetch. So at least once a day, he drops a ball at his foster’s feet and looks up expectantly.  They play fetch until he’s had enough and then he takes his ball and wanders off to another room—often dropping the ball in his foster’s slippers! As much fun as that is, he still runs from his foster too often and allows petting only occasionally (though much more often than he used to).

Birch’s ideal home will be with cat savvy humans who have experience socializing cats/kittens and who will not give up on him. He must also have at least one active, young buddy cat (even better -- multiple cat buddies!). A quiet home is best since loud noises and lots of people scare him.

Birch is a delightful, active kitten who has a lot of growing and socializing left to do. While he probably will never be a lap cat, he will always entertain you with his curious nature and playful personality. But he will need patience to trust a new family and his socializing must continue so he doesn’t regress in his behavior.

Given all that, we are looking for a very special forever home for this little guy. Is that yours?