Pickles, the famous cat that greeted customers outside a Publix grocery store in Fort Walton Beach, is living the good life inside now. But her fans can still see her regularly in a Pickles 2024 calendar.
Photos taken by her caretaker, Mike Sullivan, and admirers are featured in the calendar, including her Publix “employee of the month” picture. The calendars are scheduled to be printed in October. Advertisements are being sold to pay for production costs.
Calendars will be $20 each, and will be a available to buy at SOCKS shelter and thrift store: 498 Carmel Dr., Fort Walton Beach, with all proceeds benefiting Save Our Cats and Kittens (SOCKS), a not-for-profit organization dedicated to finding forever homes for homeless, abandoned and neglected cats and kittens. “Thank you all for the love and support you have given Pickles the past few years,” Sullivan wrote. “You can continue that love by buying a Pickles calendar, and it will support a great organization.”
Those interested in an ad can email lorrainelynnwhetstone@gmail.com, the SOCKS volunteer coordinating the calendar.
SOCKS is seeking to change Okaloosa County laws to benefit community cats such as Pickles. The change will allow Trap, Neuter & Return (TNR) programs, a scientifically proven method of reducing the number of “stray” or community cats.
The cats are trapped, spayed or neutered, vaccinated for rabies, and returned to their outside home. A small part of their ear is “tipped” while they’re under anesthesia. Ear tips, such as the one Pickles has, are the universal indicator that a cat has been sterilized so it won’t be trapped again.
TNR drastically reduces the number of stray cats, and reduces problematic behaviors, such as spraying, yowling and fighting. Hundreds of cities and counties in the United States have ordinances allowing TNR, including nearby Escambia county and Crestview.
USA Today story about Pickles: www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2023/07/10/pickles-the-cat-home-florida-publix-tourists-missing/70397232007.
