The Orange and The Gray

Tom Hammond and Mark Holler of Ginkgo Gardens in Washington, DC, shared this story about their late garden center store cat, Ginkgo:

"Tuesday (gray) and Ginkgo (orange) joined us way back in 2000, when Tuesday, his mother, gave birth to a litter of 5 in the store. Believe it or not, Ginkgo was the runt of the litter. (All the other kittens went to Capitol Hill homes.) He was so small, in fact, that no one would take him. So here we are with the runt of the litter, he was one of the largest cats in the District. 

"Ginkgo spent most of his time lying in the cardboard box on the front counter, or as we call it, the Casa del Gato. If you have been in the store before and seem to remember a huge orange mass next to the cash register, it is actually a real cat (people are surprised by that sometimes). Tuesday spent a fair amount of her time exploring Capitol Hill, and most likely finding other families to spend her afternoons with. Mark recalls a story when there was a large snow storm and one of the employees found Tuesday trotting through over 3 feet of snow!

"Tuesday and Ginkgo greeted customers for over 18 years. They were sweet, loving animals and the nicest cats we’ve ever known.

"Tuesday passed away several years ago, and most recently we lost Ginkgo to old age in January 2019. The cats were our dear friends and we miss them greatly. We look forward to meeting the next kitty that decides to have Ginkgo Gardens as their new home soon."