Voodoo
“Rescue, bottle fed and has vitiligo. She is a mutant and has lived her 11 years in our Sherwood store. She is a celebrity!” — Jennifer Flanagan, Nature’s Pet Market Sherwood, Sherwood, OR

Jax
“Jax was a bottle fed baby and is a polydactyl Maine Coon mix. He is 11 years old and has lived at our Sherwood store the entire time. He is also a mutant celebrity. ?” — Jennifer Flanagan, Nature’s Pet Market Sherwood, Sherwood, OR

Billy and Jr
“Billy and Jr have lived in the shop for over 10 years. They were feral, and Billy kept getting beat up by his colony. Since they were bonded, we took in the pair. Billy took to domesticated life much quicker than his brother and has been the official store greeter for nine of the past 10 years. Jr has spent his store life hiding under a pallet, and only in the last year has he been coming out during store hours to watch customers from afar.” — Lori Anderson, A Dog’s Dream, Seattle, WA

Gus Gus
“He is well known all over town because he loves to hang out at the local brewery and wine bar. He’s our very own adventure cat — he loves to go out on the boat, he swims in the lake, and loves to go for a hike whenever we go up to our cabin in Georgia! We adopted him the weekend before we opened our first store at a local pet adoption event, Barktoberfest. Gus Gus loves to attend each year as an alumni!” — Kristyn Schwartz, Puppers & Hairballs, Lake Placid, GA

Ginger Peach
“For the past 10 years, tiny cat Ginger Peach has been entertaining the dogs who stay with us. She knows who is friendly and who isn’t. Best cat ever!” — Terri Ellen, Salem Bed & Biscuit, Salem, OR

Sumi
“She has been out store cat for 10 years. She is loved by our whole town. She runs to the windows if someone is walking by just to get their attention!” —Ann Kreps Weber, Fancy Paws, LLC Elkins, WV

Union
“Union is an old man, probably 16. He has FIV and did have terrible stomatitis. We’ve spent no less than $8,000 on this handsome boy’s mouth.” —
Tara Nagelhout, Hometown Pets, Springfield, OR

Gregory
“Gregory is younger than our other store cats, all of which are adoptable to the right family. He’s maybe 7. He also has FIV.” — Tara Nagelhout, Hometown Pets, Springfield, OR

Leo
“Leo is 15 to 17 years old. He’s allergic to the world so he wears a collar all the time. FASHION! He also has FIV. He lives at our fish-focused store, which is good for him because he’s too good to drink fountain water.” — Tara Nagelhout, Hometown Pets, Eugene, OR

Clove
“No clue about Clove’s age. Some jerks left him behind when they moved. The neighborhood fed him until we scooped him up for testicle-removal day. Then we discovered he had the FIV so he was sentenced to a life at the store. He likes to steal things from the VE Raw Bar.” — Tara Nagelhout, Hometown Pets, Eugene, OR

Ghost
“He was about 14 when we lost him. This boy cost us over $15,000 in the three short years we had him.
He had FIV and a mouth full of retained roots, stomatitis and hamburger gums. Oral cancer got him in the end. He was so loved by the community. He looked like a burn victim in the end from all the drool. We gave the community a lot of notice so they could all say goodbye. And then we had a great party with the people who loved him the most. The pet psychic was there to talk with him, and the mobile euthanasia person spent 90 minutes letting us all have our time. Google Street View still shows him peeking out the front glass doors. I like to think it’s because he’s still here.” — Tara Nagelhout, Hometown Pets, Eugene, OR

MISSY
“Missy, along with her fellow store cat Cleo, is attentive to customers and an honest critic of new products. They have their own office and a beautiful catio where they can greet customers outside. They demo cat trees around the store, but can often be found on the counter in boxes or sitting on any papers humans might be trying to look at.” — Tamie Waugh, Cobber’s Pet Pantry, Enumclaw, WA

BENTLEY
“He is the coolest and has helped give cats a good name. People who have been afraid of or did not like cats have changed their tune after meeting Bentley. Being 17 or 18, he sleeps a lot, but that doesn’t stop people wanting to see him, especially the kids.” — Dorothy Vetrovec, Nature’s Feed, Spring Grove, IL

CHAMPAWAT
“Champawat is more than a store cat. She is the store mascot and the best salesperson I have! Anything she plays with, people instantly buy.” — Angela Velasquez, The Kitty Bodega, Houston, TX

KITTY
“Kitty came with the store we purchased in 2023. Former shelter cat, rumored to be between 15 to 18 years. More popular than the previous owner. Sleeps 23 1/2 hours a day. Customers love her.” — Alyssa Tarr, Tarr Family Farm Supply, Richmond, ME

LARRY
“We recently adopted our store cat, Larry. He’s been a lot of fun and boosts the team’s mood daily! Our clients all enjoy watching Larry’s mayhem on our social media.” — Jennifer Frankavitz, Four Leggers Pet Supplies & Services, Beverly, MA

TOKI
“Toki is too nervous to be on the sales floor, so she stays in back. She is a bit quirky, which only adds to her charm. Toki adores our staff and makes work life a lot more fun. All of the treats and toys she has liked have become very good sellers. Girl has great taste!” — Susanna Furlone, The Wishbone Pet Company, Freedom, CA

PRETZEL
“Pretzel has been with us since he was just 3 weeks old. He has his own fan club — customers come in just to buy him treats — and wins best social media and best shop pet awards locally. I would say he is the most popular member of the team.” — Jennifer Thomas, Lucky Dog Pet Grocery & Bakery, Lawrence, KS

NETTLE
“Nettle is most known for lying on her back for belly rubs from anyone who will give them. She won’t get up, requiring customers to walk around or step over her at times! Nettle has retired and stays home most days, but she was always loved and had many fans at our store.” — Becci Scott, The Fetching Dog, Scottsdale, AZ

PIPER
“Piper likes to demo all the new products, so much so that we have to watch what we display so she can’t get into things. When she first moved in, we always had ‘Piper’s Picks,’ sales of products she would open for us! Thankfully she has grown out of that, sort of. Piper can usually be found on the counter, trying to get into customers’ bags or purses to make sure she approves of the purchases!” — Shannon Carey, Premium Pets, Jefferson City, MO

GORTON T. FISHERMAN
“Gortie greets everyone, teaches dogs tolerance, and types on our laptops as he makes himself at home on desks. He breaks into bags of Farmina — only Farmina — so we have to block them when we leave! Gorton keeps us laughing, and customers always ask for him!” — Adina Silberstein, Queenie’s Pets, Philadelphia, PA

TITI
“We host adoptable kitties! We have about 14 in-store cats currently! Titi has been with us more than a year, though, went from us hardly being able to give her food or water without being attacked to being the sweetest kitty. She loves love, but on her terms.” — Tasha Hermanson, Woofta, Dickinson, ND

OUTSIDE Cat
“We have a symbiotic relationship with Outside Cat. We pay for protection with great food and housing.” — Paul Lewis, The Green K9, Eustis, FL

Marley
“She’s been on the clock for about 15 years. We’re not exactly sure how good she is. Customers love her, but the feelings aren’t always mutual. ?”
— Chad Whelpley, Beaver Agway, Beaver, PA

ELLIE
“Ellie is our resident Maine Coon, a huge girl with healing qualities. Always lies on or by anyone waiting for their fancy feline having a spa day. We have clients come from all over Colorado. Sometimes, they’ve driven two hours! So, they hang out. We have a lovely lobby area, and they can just get cozy with their own personal entertainment!” — Rachel Diller, Urban Sophisticats, Littleton, CO

SIMON
“We foster adoptable kittens for our local humane society. We kept one of the kittens, Simon, and he’s a bit of a celebrity. People are thrilled when he’s hanging around up front and even more so when Simon is amorous toward them. When he was younger, he would rip a bag every so often when he was having the zoomies, but we had a special sign we put on the bags, called it ‘Simon Specials’ and applied a tiny discount. People have even asked if we have any Simon Specials. — Cathy Dervalis, Dog Day Afternoon, Belleville, IL

KITKAT
“Our store cat was given to us, and we believed she was pregnant. She was not, although everyone still asks if she is, eight years later. An employee named her KitKat. She loves being here. She mainly lives in the grooming area but can roam freely the other 6,000 square feet.” — Heather Miller, Just For Pets, York, PA

MR. GREY
“We had an ancient semi-feral cat named Mr. Grey that lost his home, so we took him in to be a shop cat. He absolutely loved greeting customers and was fairly tolerant of dogs (scratched only one dog who got in his face). He never tried to get out the front door, as he was done with street life. He died at the age of 22. I buried him in my backyard. We miss him greatly. We joke that he returns to visit in his ghostly cat state.” — Alison Chandler, Noble Beast, Phoenix, AZ

LEONARD, SHELDON & PENNY
“They each have their strengths with various types of customers, and they earn their treats daily! Leonard is the greeter, the dog socializer, will jump in to any cart or on any lap. He’ll also cover you in white hair faster than you can say lint brush. Sheldon is the counter supervisor. He tests products and keeps the counter in order. He’s a real chill dude. Penny is our child babysitter. She loves kids and can really not give two figs about adults. She loves to sit in the middle of a group of kids and get love. Adults may get to pet her gently once or twice, then they are told to get lost.” — Melissa Wynn, Paws & Fins Pet Shop, Bainbridge Island, WA

ANGEL
“Our store cat Angel spent her almost 20 years greeting our customers, being a highlight on our social medial and loving her life. A beautiful painting by one of my employees who knew her still graces our wall. Unfortunately, one of our most prominent negative Google reviews is about her shedding hair on our counter. However, hundreds of people loved her, and commented and reacted on our Facebook when she passed.” — Amber Hudson, The Aquarium Pet Store, Weatherford, OK

CHIKO
“We had a store cat named Chiko, a short-haired tuxedo. Chiko was a crazy, dog-aggressive rescue. He would tear open dog food and treats and eat them at night. Or if we left to go to a trade show, he would really tear stuff up. Chiko is the reason why we carry some of the cat food brands we carry; if they passed his test, then they were in. His presence increased our cat food sales. Plus customers liked to see him here, unless they were a dog.” — Ruth Sturgis, Dog Daze, North Syracuse, NY

SQUID
“We’ve had Squid for 2 1/2 years now, and we just adopted Nori a month ago. They are so in love with one another, it’s ridiculous. They have a window onto the street in their day room and have a fairly continuous parade of admirers who coo at them from outside. Then there are the kiddos who come in the shop and before they even get in the door, they say, ‘Can we go see Squid?'” — Molly Lewis, Dog River Pet Supplies, Hood River, OR

NICHOLAS
“Nicholas was our first shop cat when we opened 20 years ago. He was found by one of our customers, and he made our shop his home. He was the best shop cat, although quite playful at night since we had to pick up quite a few catnip toys every morning. Nicholas loved dogs and everyone he met. He’s even on our wall mural of our legacy founding pets.” — Jeff Jensen, Four Muddy Paws, St. Louis, MO

CHUBBS
“Our store cat Chubbs now lives at home with me. He was tremendous for sales and excellent mouse control. People would come in the store just to see him and always wanted to buy his favorite items. When Covid hit, we shortened our hours and didn’t want to leave him at the store alone, so I brought him home. He was so happy at our house, I felt bad taking him back and so he’s been living with me ever since. People still ask about him daily. — Kate Bowman, Clipper’s Canine Cafe, Ellicott City, MD

WOBBLES
“Wobbles is about 20 years old. He has neurologic issues and a heart murmur. He came to us a little over a year ago when his mom died during dinner at a local restaurant. She had no family close and no one to love her “meowfia” of two geriatric ginger cats. We were afraid if they were to go to a shelter, they would not be homed due to their advanced age. He and his brother, Hoffa, became members of our family in November 2022. Hoffa was 21 at the time. We lost him November 2023. Wobbles (originally Waffa) spends most of the day in the chair, sitting behind the vet, so she has to perch on the edge. — Elaina Starman, Larkspur Pet Hospital, Larkspur, CO

SEBASTIAN, ELLA & WILLIS
“At 14, Sebastian is our resident old man, a domestic long hair with Siamese markings. He’s lived his entire life at the store, and is our lover boy and laid-back cat. He sleeps all day and emerges to greet us in the mornings and comes out around quitting time. Ella, 9, is our gray kitty, our scaredy cat. Social on her terms, but requires a lot of attention when I’m in my office, will sit on my lap, paw at me and look up wanting pets. Her 8-year-old son, Willis, is a tabby and the store character, greeter, hunter and protector. He greets customers in the parking lot, demanding pets, and will talk to them as they walk into the store. He loves to hunt. We have to look for him when customers bring their dogs in, as he randomly chooses who he feels he has to protect the store from. He has ridden home with a customer in the back of a truck loaded with hay, has been locked in the business next to us. Everyone loves him and looks forward to seeing him.” — Diana Hardy, The Feed Bin, Rochester, WA

FELIX
“He is a cat I rescued from under an abandoned car in the Bronx. He loves all people and animals, as you can see. People come to our store just to visit him as well as buy his favorite products for their own cats.” — Doug Staley, Pet Palace Of New City, New City, NY

CALVIN
“We were fostering him at the shop and enjoyed him so much. He received an application, and we were not happy! The application fell through, so we adopted him. He has been with us four years now and is SO well loved by everyone. We have people who visit JUST to say hi to Calvin.” — Helen Bennett, The Grooming Place In Pet Shop, Chester, MD

BANDID
“We sure enjoyed our Bandit kitty. He was personality plus and was with us for nearly 10 years.” — Karen Connell, The Bark Market, Delavan, WI