Notes from Richard's foster family:

Richard the Lionhearted

Richard has been our foster for the past month, as he needed a vacation from the shelter. It’s been a treat to have him as our guest.

If it weren’t for our 14 year old, grumpy cat, we’d adopt him in a minute. He’d really like to share a home with another friendly, non-aggressive cat. He adores our 10 year old cat and they are allowed to have supervised play sessions. Sometimes Richard cries at the door for Ginger to come and play with him.

Richard is the sweetest guy. He started out being very shy, but every encounter he’s had with the staff at the shelter and my husband and me has been completely gentle on Richard’s part. He’s never scratched or bitten, even when getting medications or having his nails trimmed. It takes him a while to relax and feel comfortable in a new enviroment. Sometimes he runs from us, when it’s pill time, and he tries to hide, but he's not good at it. He thinks we can’t see him when he’s pushed himself against the stair treads.

His favorite activity is watching Cat TV. As soon as I turn it on, he hears the introduction and runs as fast as he can, to sit in front of the TV, trying to catch the birds or mice by batting at the screen. He also loves wand toys, chasing balls and mice and wrestling with the throw rug.

He has been staying in my jewelry studio, where I have trays of loose beads on most of the tables and most young cats would have been on the tables, knocking everything to the floor. He hasn’t disturbed anything, not because he isn’t interested because he checks out everything and jumps up on furniture to sit by the window. He’s just a very remarkable cat.

When he finds his forever home, his new family will need to be patient while he adjusts to being there and getting to know them, but I can promise you, it’ll be worth waiting for when you hear his loud purr, as you massage his neck and chin.