Cats are important staff. From bodega cats to brewery cats, feline pals assist enterprise homeowners maintain rodents at bay and entice new clients. However a Residence Depot cat named Leo is placing a New Jersey location of the house enchancment retailer chain on the map — and constructing a social media following within the course of.
Residence Depot cat garners TikTok fame
Leo the cat is the feline-in-residence on the Residence Depot retailer in Mount Laurel, New Jersey. He was a barn cat earlier than arriving on the retailer final summer season. Buyer Jeffrey Simpkins, who goes by @cat_dad_2020 on TikTok, movies the furry buddy throughout his buying journeys.
“He has two title tags that say ‘Good day my title is Leo,’ after which the opposite one says like ‘Mount Laurel Retailer,’ so he’s registered to the shop,” Simpkins instructed ABC 7 Chicago.
Simpkins is a cat dad himself. In truth, he typically outlets along with his two feline pals, Will and Grace. When he began documenting Leo on TikTok, his social media star started rising. Simpkins estimates that all the Leo movies on his TikTok account have roughly 50 million views.
Simpkins attributes the Residence Depot cat’s recognition to “his distinctive character, like he’s pleasant, he wears clothes not like different cats, and he has a number of locations he sleeps at.”
Cat lovers inspired to do extra than simply ‘like’ Leo
Leo’s followers recognize the feline’s outgoing vibe.
“I’m a giant cat individual, and I like cats so I’m actually excited to see him. It’s my first time seeing him in individual, and I actually love that he wears shirts,” Theo Lythberg of Cherry Hill, New Jersey, instructed ABC 7 Chicago.
“It’s the final week of summer season, so we figured let’s go see the cat and take advantage of it and see if we will be a part of his fan membership,” Michelle Lythberg added.
They’re not the one ones fawning over Leo. Residence Depot workers take turns caring for the cat, feeding him and taking him to the vet.
However Simpkins isn’t simply filming Leo the Cat for social media clout. His hope is that cat lovers will donate to animal shelters within the space – and even higher, undertake a cat of their very own.