Lite + Brite’s Guide to Austin Store Pets
Many cats, dogs, and even goats are hard at work at some of your favorite Austin shops and venues. This month, Lite + Brite is taking you around town to meet some of them.
Name: Smokey
Place of employment: The Vortex
Species: Cat
Age: 11
How did she come to work at the Vortex?: Smokey first volunteered as a feral kitten cleaning up scraps near Patrizi’s smoker.
How did she get so chonky?: Without her adoring public, Smokey ate her way through the pandemic and then just kept going, ending up larger than her big brother Radius (RIP).
How does she distinguish herself from the other Vortex cat?: She has golden eyes, as opposed to her elusive sister, Elmire, who has green eyes.
Favorite nap spot: The baguette pillow on the pink sofa in the bar.
Favorite part of working at a bar and venue: Receiving love and adoration from her fans.
Least favorite part of working at a bar and venue: DOGS, who she dominates anyway.
Name: Mae Mae
Place of employment: Birdhouse Books
Species: Dog
Age: 5 and 1/2
How did she come to work at Birdhouse?: In the first few months after opening Birdhouse, store owner Abby found herself kinda lonely there sometimes as they were still gaining awareness and regular foot traffic. Her family had also recently opened their hearts to getting a new rescue dog, as their old man Dexter had died about 2 years before (and they have another big guy, Murphy, at home who needed a playmate). Within a week of deciding she would start looking for a new dog, Abby found her kids petting Mae Mae at Brentwood Park, and Mae Mae had an “Adopt Me!” leash. A week later she started at the store!
Favorite nap spot: Mae Mae naps in a little bed under Abby’s chair behind the register. She also has a special lookout on a Hamilton blanket between two bookcases in the fantasy section that allows her to be vigilant for any approaching customers she needs to go greet!
Favorite part of working at a bookshop: All of it. She has spots to watch out the window, to nap, and she has best friends who visit her every week (or more often!) and new friends visiting every day. She was made for this place!
Name: Harper
Place of employment: Uncommon Objects
Species: Dog
Age: About 12
How did she come to work at Uncommon Objects?: Harper wandered on to the owner’s back porch, as a ragamuffin, in the middle of moving the shop off of South Congress.
Favorite nap spot: She loves to hold down the wrapping paper on the front counter.
Favorite part of working at an antique shop: Receiving love and affection.
Least favorite part of working at an antique shop: Working overtime.
How can fans follow her online?: Harper Lee has her own Instagram account.
Name: Twister
Place of employment: Sherwood Forest Zine Library
Species: Cat
Age: 7
How did she come to work at Sherwood Forest?: The library is run out of Twister’s house, and she loves interacting with the library patrons.
Favorite nap spot: Laps, the couch, and her window shelf by the desk.
Favorite part of working at a zine library: Getting so much attention.
Least favorite part of working at a zine library: When it’s 5pm and she is just wants dinner. (She gets dinner after 6pm, when the library closes.)
Favorite zine: One that a member made about her called “Twister Is So Done with Me.”
Names and ages: Rascutin (age 7), Burlee (3), OJ (2), and Monkey (around 2-3 years old)
Place of employment: Tillery Street Plant Company
Species: Cats
Favorite nap spot: On flats of catmint or under the blue shop.
Favorite part of working at a plant nursery: Greeting customers and helping with pot ups
Least favorite part of working at a plant nursery: Being told what to do.
Name: Louis
Place of employment: Wild About Music
Species: Cat
Age: 7
How did he come to work at Wild About Music?: Adopted from Austin Pets Alive—the shop owners were looking for a friendly guy, and Louis fit the description perfectly.
Favorite nap spot: On top of the mousepad and keyboard or amongst the plush stuffed animals bearing his likeness.
Favorite part of working at a music store: There is no shortage of pets and scratches, and his coworkers are very doting and loving.
Least favorite part of working at a music store: Sometimes it can get quite loud and eventful.
Best album he’s heard recently: Louis loves anything from his namesake Louis Armstrong, but recently he’s really been enjoying diving back into Dolly Parton and Willie Nelson’s bodies of work.
Name: Finney
Place of employment: Finney’s Books
Species: Dog
Age: 7
How did he come to work at Finney’s?: He’s not really sure. One day his mom was talking to her friends about wanting to start a bookstore, then a bunch of big boxes of books started showing up at his house, and then all the sudden he had to go to this other place every single weekend to work!
Favorite nap spot: The blue chairs give him plenty of room to spread out and a great view of the store. When he needs a quiet spot away from the people, he curls up in his bed under the front desk.
Favorite part of working at a bookstore: All the pets, of course! He gets to meet new people every time he’s in and they all pet him and love on him. And he’s usually the only dog, so all the attention is on him!
Least favorite part of working at a bookstore: Not being at home on his own couch all day.
How does Finney feel about having a whole store named after him?: What, like it’s a big deal? He loves it and thinks it’s so cool that his mom wanted everyone to love him like she does. He’s also a huge audiobook guy, so he loves owning a bookstore.
Name: Bug
Place of employment: Austin Pets Alive! Thrift (51st/Airport location)
Species: Cat
Age: About 4
How did she come to work at APA! Thrift?: She was left in a box when she came here several years ago. The manager, Cristina Fiorenza, took her in and decided to keep her as a store cat. After a few week, the shopkeepers realized she was pregnant. She had kittens, which were all adopted through APA!
Favorite nap spot: Everywhere in the store.
Favorite part of working at a thrift shop: Meeting new people.
Name: Cricket
Place of employment: The Natural Gardener
Species: Cat
Age: 7
How did he come to work at the Natural Gardener?: He arrived in 2019, right after his predecessor kitty Chelsea passed.
Favorite nap spot: The Information Desk counter (usually in a tight box), the buyers’ office (on someone’s keyboard), or by a lunchbox (in the back office)
Favorite part of working at a plant nursery: Having 50+ servants that get doors for him, feed him treats, and cater to his every need.
Least favorite part of working at a nursery: Encountering dogs. He is NOT a fan them.
How fancy is his catio?: So fancy that Travis Audubon featured it in their catio tour.
Name: Cheese
Place of employment: Cosmic Pickle
Species: Cat
Age: 1
How did he come to work at Cosmic?: Cheese showed up by Pueblo Viejo one morning, where they gave him a taco. The bartenders followed that up with a little bit of milk, and he pretty much fell in love on the spot. After that, he decided Cosmic Pickle was home and hasn’t left since.
Favorite nap spot: Under the barstools, preferably in a sunny little patch to sunbathe.
Favorite part of working at a bar: All the love, belly pets, and treats he gets from staff and customers
Least favorite part of working at a bar: The diet he was eventually put on after all that love and all those treats. Apparently, being a beloved bar cat comes with consequences.
Names: Brigid (Bri to her friends) and Diana
Place of employment: Dragon’s Lair Comics & Fantasy
Species: Cats
Ages: 5-year-old sisters from the same litter
How did they come to work at Dragon’s Lair?: They arrived in April of 2022, and they were hand-raised by a former employee who needed to rehome them due to a move. Their dear predecessor cat Maidez had passed about a year prior, so Bri and Diana just made themselves at home.
Favorite nap spot: In the front windows, frequently cuddled up. Diana is also fond of napping in the hand baskets, and Bri has claimed territory on top of the comics subscription file cabinets. They have plenty of toys liberally spread all over the store, and a blue chair in a prime bird-watching location in the front window. Their office cat tree is almost seven feet tall!
Favorite part of working in a gaming store: They are really fond of boxes, and frequently “help” unpack incoming product. They also curl up inside open board game boxes and on top of backpacks when folks come in to play games. Occasionally they’ll walk across a D&D or Warhammer game in progress.
Name: Butters
Place of employment: Civil Goat Coffee (Cuernavaca location)
Species: Goat
Age: 9
What is his star sign?: Aquarius.
How did he come to work at Civil Goat?: Chris got him when he was 3 months old.
Favorite part of working at a coffeeshop: Getting fed by the kids.
Favorite in-shop nap spot: He is not allowed to nap in the shop because he is a goat, and that’s not civil.