Hard Working Store Cat Earns Promotion To A Forever Home  

Written by: Kelli Brinegar
For more than five years, Kelli Brinegar has been using her ability to write and her passion for research to tell the tale of what cats are thinking and why. She has provided care to more than 30 cats in her lifetime.Read more
| Published on May 18, 2021

As a cat lover, you’re no doubt on the lookout for cats wherever you go. Any time you spot a feline in a place you don’t expect, you feel the thrill of the discovery and want to share the kitty encounter with the rest of the feline fanatics!

Lucky for us, that’s just what happened to Mica Mendoza.

As Mica told mySA.com, she was shopping at the H-E-B plus! on Potranco and 1604 in San Antonio, TX, when she set eyes on Zuko the tortie cat sporting a name tag and encouraging shoppers not to forget their garden needs.

It’s not the first time Mica had seen who she called “the cutest worker.” Zuko often hung around the store, doing the things cats do. A friend of Mica’s works there and sees the kitty pretty often too. But this time, Zuko wasn’t just spotted from a distance. Perched on the sacks of dirt, the cat gave Mica the opportunity to snap a few pics.

Known as u/bugbaby222 on Reddit, Mica shared the pictures of Zuko checking the garden soil inventory on subreddit r/San Antonio. It turns out, others have seen Zuko hanging around the store as well. They chimed in on the comments along with some feline wordplay artists.

For instance, FletchLives1980 commented, “I would like to speak with the meownager.”

Bpfinsa also said, “Those are the eyes of someone who wants to knock everything off of the shelves.”

Others discussed Zuko’s job responsibilities, agreeing that like other shop cats, the tortoiseshell cat was probably helping to keep the bird and rat populations from invading the store.

But Zuko’s days as a garden store employee were nearing their end.

Shop Cat to Family Feline

Store manager Serenity Hernandez reported Zuko showed up at the store around six months ago, making herself at home and giving birth to a litter of four kittens. Those kittens found homes with store employees as soon as Zuko was ready to tell them goodbye. And as for the tortie mom herself, she’s found her forever home with associate Lora Herrera.

Once he’s done moving into his new place, Lora will be bringing Zuko to her forever home.

An excited cat dad, Lora is the one who named Zuko. Fans of “Avatar: The Last Airbender” will recognize the name and the reasoning behind the name choice for the kitty. Lora said he settled on the name “due to the cat resembling the character who has a patch on his left eye.”

While Zuko the cat may not be trying to capture the lost Avatar, her hard work at H-E-B has earned her a forever home!

Zuko isn’t the only cat who found life as a shop manager appeasing, though. Check Out These 19 Shop Cats Looking Like They Own The Place!

H/T: www.kvue.com
Feature Image: u/bugbaby222/ Reddit