The photos give an idea of how gorgeous Robbie is.  He is a good build and pretty sturdy and he has turned out to be a really sweet natured, gentle soul, once he is certain that he trusts you.  He was a very sad and defensive boy when he first came into care.  Reports had suggested that he could have been living outside for several years.  At first, his behaviour led to me wondering if he had been born outside, poor soul, and so not used to humans who wanted to help him, but rather seeing them as enemies to be feared etc. However, over time, this adorable boy has decided that the board and lodgings, and perhaps even the company here, aren't so bad after all.  He honestly is like a different boy.  I had never touched him until this penny dropped with him.  Robbie is now friendly, very friendly, and appears to love being with people.  He stands on his hind legs, which is often when it's food time and it's his gentle way of telling me to get a move on.  I think he often shows this little party trick because he knows I find it really cute.  He now welcomes strokes almost as much as his food.  He must be so much happier than he was.  It's just the passing of time and patience that, in Robbie's case, have helped him so much.  Another cute habit he has is to roll over on a foot.  In my case, the foot is usually in flip flops and the first time he did it, I watched and held my breath wondering if he was going to go for a toe, he didn't!  The habit continues as he appears to love it and all my toes are intact.  It does appear that Robbie was 'owned' in some loose sense of the word at one time.  Perhaps he was abandoned, left behind when people moved away or maybe Robbie was unhappy and felt neglected, or worse, so he ran away in the hope of finding a better life.  If he did have owners, they are now missing out big time.  He can still be very cautious at times and act almost like a Mummy's boy, looking for reassurance and lots of love; it's really endearing and makes him even more appealing.  He gets the love and reassurance in bucketloads of course but needs his own home so he can be showered with all he needs much more regularly.  When there is lots of noise around him, even at quite a big distance away, Robbie will often hide away under his bed, which must make him feel safe and less vulnerable.  He has spent time mixing with other foster cats and, though nothing major happens between them, he is a bit of a loner.  All the signs are that he loves human company and all the attention and companionship that goes with this.  He always greets me with enthusiasm when I go into him, usually including standing on his hind legs for strokes and a fuss.  I just wish I could spend more time with him; whilst it would be a joy, other responsibilities, and reality, take over of course. I really feel that he has lots more to give and his sweet nature will develop more and more when he has a proper home of his own.  I really long for this for him, probably as much as he does.  He would be so, so happy to be in a proper home, as all these dear souls everywhere would of course.  Observing Robbie over time, I think that he will need a very special person to adopt him.  The person or people will need to be pretty experienced and / or very caring and patient.  The patience is likely to be needed because it is expected that he will tke a long time to settle in and to start to trust new humans.  Many true cat people are in no rush for this to happen of course, as they know there is absolutely no time scale, they just want to give a very deserving cat a wonderful home and future and are happy to wait for as long as it takes and accept that this will be totally at the cat's pace.  I am lucky enough to have come across several of these very special people in the last few years with the cats in the care of our very small rescue.  Such wonderful people are so worth waiting for and it's especially touching that many send us updates now and again.  This is just so lovely and really appreciated.  Robbie has been neutered, vaccinated, microchipped, blood tested and flea and worm treated.  If you are even vaguely interested in Robbie and his future and want a loyal friend, do get in touch, obviously with no commitment at all.  Thank you for reading.  [email protected] / 07477926973