Our Cats: A Brief History!
Here at O.K. Hatchery, we love ourselves some sweet kitties! In fact, some people even associate our ‘mascot’ with a cat rather than a chicken! But we don’t mind, considering how our product often attracts certain pests like mice. Throughout the years we’ve been blessed to have many helpful mousers; this is a brief history of all our cool cats and some adorable photos of them!
Spike
Our first kitty came to us sometime between the 1980’s-1990’s. His name was Spike, and he was found by one of our employees, Mark, at his apartment complex. Once he made his way to O.K. Hatchery, Spike really hit it off with the other employees. Due to his more reserved-nature, Spike was a great warehouse worker; he loved a good mouse or two! However, every so often, Spike would bless you wish his presence and extend a warm greeting!
A funny memory he is remembered by is the Great Hole Debacle! Throughout his time with us, we would find tiny little holes all over some of our product. We figured it was mice or racoons, but after Spikes departure the mysterious holes suddenly stopped! It seems he was the one behind the whole thing! Unfortunately, we don’t have any photos available of this little dude, but he was a gray tabby kitty (photo of similar)!
Sticky
Our second addition to the cat clan was our beloved Sticky! She decided to wander onto our property around the 1990’s, but unfortunately found herself in a ‘sticky’ situation. We found her stuck in a glue trap, covered in goop with the sweetest face! This is how she got her name, Sticky!
Sticky was well-known for being the friendliest greeter around! She made the front counter her special spot, ready to receive pets from all of our amazing customers. She was great with kids and often made it her mission to say hello. Many customers to this day come in and reminisce on how sweet this kitty truly was! Sticky was a stunning tortoise shell cat, with quite the loving and bubbly personality! Sticky crossed the rainbow bridge sometime in 2011.
Shiloh
Our third kitty is still with us today, and her name is Shiloh! She originally came to us on her own, ready to make our store hers. However, she wasn’t too keen on having us humans around to share her space with! Shiloh was very shy and ‘wild’ when we first met her, which is where she gets her name. It wasn’t until Steve, one of our employees, spent his lunches with her and often shared his food. She quickly learned that maybe the whole human-cat exchange wasn’t too bad after all!
However, sometime in July 2013 Shiloh went missing. Everyone at the store was devastated, until 22 months later when a customer came in claiming he’d been feeding a cat that looked just like her! Shiloh was quickly returned home, where she went straight for her food bowl and favorite napping spot! It’s crazy how much cats remember after such a long period of time! Ever since, Shiloh believes to be above the whole ‘moussing job’ and has promoted herself to head manager! She loves to greet customers, that is, if she isn’t too busy sleeping-I mean working- in her office upstairs!
Beaks & Crumbles
Our most recent addition to the kitty crew are the two sisters Beaks and Crumbles! These two were adopted through an organization at a veterinary school, and have been joined at the hip since. They were named in a chicken-like fashion, how chickens eat (Beaks) and their food (Crumbles)! Unlike Shiloh, both of these sisters love their warehouse job! They’ve helped keep mice at bay for years now, and boy do they love it! Some mornings they’ve been caught sneaking back in after a long night of partying, ready for breakfast before another day of work!
Since these two were brought up in a more ‘wild’ environment before joining the family, they tend to keep to themselves. Only a few certain employees are allowed to glance in their direction for longer than 30 seconds before you become a nuisance, haha! Every once in awhile you can see the pair snoozing away on the driveway or in the front window of our warehouse; enjoying the warm sun and beautiful views!
Enjoy these gorgeous photos captured by Natalie O’Dell, found on her Instagram: @natalieodell_photography
