Meet Butternut.

Princeton, MN · 1 year 4 months · Tabby / Domestic Medium Hair / Mixed (medium coat)

Listed since Aug 18, 2025. Listing dates do not establish shelter intake or continuous availability.

First seen by Goodmorph Oct 30, 2026.

Rescue last updated: Jan 15, 2026

In the shelter’s words

Butternut came to us as a stray who found himself inside someone’s trap. He was very scared, shaky and hissed a lot. He has come so far and allows us to get close. He is starting to realize he is now safe and that there is always food and water so he no longer eats too much, too fast. We have been able to pick him up and hold him for a little bit before he gets too scared. He is accepting head and chin scratchies and has showed us his motor! He is becoming more playful and no longer hides in the cat cave! With time, this little guy will make a great pet! And he has the cutest little face and showed us hit little meow now! He’s come a long way in the short time we’ve had him! Butternut is from stray surrender. If you are interested in getting to know this animal better, please fill out an adoption application. An adoption application is the best way to show your interest in an animal and is not a binding contract. To learn more about Ruff Start’s adoption process and the care our foster animals receive, please visit our How to Adopt page. If you are unable to adopt but want to help this animal and others in our care, you can donate to support the medical and veterinary needs of all Ruff Start Rescue animals. Want to adopt a kitten? We highly recommend you consider bringing home two instead of one! Adopting kittens in pairs has been proven to be beneficial for cats’ emotional and behavioral well-being and greatly improves the likelihood of long-term adopter happiness as a result. Adopting more than one kitten also reduces the risk of “Single Kitten Syndrome” (also known as Tarzan Syndrome), a symptom of under-socialization during a kitten’s most formative weeks. Kittens who are under-socialized may develop aggressive tendencies toward both other animals and humans as they grow, creating lifelong behavioral issues for owners.

RescueGroups record ID: 21795502

What this home needs

• Cats

  Mentioned by the shelter

  “Feed checkbox: Yes”

  Not a verified observation — ask staff about the context. A positive shelter report may support search results; it remains unverified and needs confirmation.

  Shelter statement ↗
• Children

  Mentioned by the shelter

  “Feed checkbox: Yes”

  Not a verified observation — ask staff about the context. A positive shelter report may support search results; it remains unverified and needs confirmation.

  Shelter statement ↗
• Still to ask the shelter

  other dogs · housing and stairs · medical and care. These details are not documented here; unknown does not mean no.

Roster last seen: Nov 2, 2026, 6:06 AM UTC
Goodmorph last synced: Nov 2, 2026, 6:06 AM UTC
Availability confirmed by a person: Not confirmed

Shelter staff and authorized volunteers: add a dated observation

This shared profile remains available for up to 90 days after it leaves the source roster, unless removal is requested sooner. Adoptions and applications are handled by the shelter.