Fostering a pet comes with one major risk: you might fall in love. That is what happened with Goose, a 5-year-old orange tabby who was supposed to be a temporary resident of the Holofchak family home.
The Holofchak family brought Goose home at 5 weeks old through the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Animal Care and Control Kitten Foster Program after he was found in a muddy ditch. The plan was to return him once he reached two pounds and was ready for adoption. By then the family had fallen for his personality and adopted him themselves.
His human sister named him, deciding Goose fit the fluffy orange cat perfectly. "Cheeto" was also in the running.
Raised by teenagers
As a kitten, Goose spent most of his time in the upstairs playroom with his teenage human brothers, who often had friends over to watch movies or spend the night on weekends. "We think that being 'raised' by a bunch of teenage boys contributed to his social, relaxed and confident nature," says Jenny Holofchak, Goose's mom.
Now that his human siblings are away at college, Goose spends most of his time with his dachshund brothers, Dash and Leo. He is particularly close with Leo; the two are only a few months apart and grew up together, and they challenge each other to games of hide-and-seek and chase.
Down to earth, literally
For all his playfulness, Goose is pretty down to earth. He eats lying down. "We joke that he eats like a Roman," Jenny says. His favorite treats are bagged popcorn and whipped cream straight from the can, and the sound of a crinkling bag from across the house will wake him from the deepest cat nap.
The family tries not to overindulge him when he begs alongside Dash and Leo, but they have found other ways to spoil him. Goose has a screened-in "catio," a cat patio on the back porch where he can safely enjoy the outdoors. The family also got him his own betta fish to watch.
When winter makes the catio too chilly, Goose moves to his other favorite spot: underneath the Christmas tree. As a kitten he climbed into the branches. Now he prefers to sit beneath them in the glow of the lights. When the tree comes down after New Year's, Goose mourns it by sitting in the empty space where it stood.
A few requests of his own
Goose gives plenty of affection back. He lets you pet him, play with him and snuggle him. He likes to be carried around the house, slung over someone's shoulder. And when he jumps out at a family member walking by to "surprise" them, they are expected to act startled.
Goose may have entered the Holofchak home as a foster cat, but his personality made it impossible to give him up.
This story appears in the October 2026 issue of Stroll Dilworth.