Play with me

This is an adorable, seemingly playful little kitty. The photograph itself is beautiful. It has a nice sharpness where it should, and a large enough depth of field to keep the entire subject in focus. Of course, I would prefer a color photo, but that is my opinion and I realize a lot of people would disagree with this view. The only real problem I have is an issue with the background. It's subtle, but it takes my attention away from the subject. It's the log (or tree..?) in the upper left hand corner. It's only a very small flaw, in an otherwise spectacular and cute capture. Well done!