Cat Kicked Out Of Home Depot After Living There For 13 Years

A cat that has been living in a South Carolina Home Depot for the last 13 years is now looking for a new home.

Management at Home Depot in Bluffton kicked out the cat, nicknamed Depot, WTOC TV reported Jan. 18. Officials from the home improvement chain said the female cat had to go because she kept setting off the store's alarms at night.

Depot the cat liked to spend time in the store's garden. The black cat would also welcome customers at the door when the store opened in the morning, WTOC reported. Customers who spoke to WTOC gave mixed reactions, some lauding the decision to kick Depot out and others calling it cruel.

"Being an animal lover, I'd get rid of management before I'd get rid of the cat," Home Depot customer Nancy Bogenrief said.

But Marisa Page said the cat was inappropriate.

"I can't believe they let the cat live here for 13 years," Page told WTOC TV. "It is a store and you don't really want wild animals roaming around."

A man from Margaretville, New York started an online petition on Depot's behalf, arguing that it is in management's best interest to keep the cat.

"Depot keeps pest, snakes and rodents out of the store," the change.org petition states. "For those that do not live in the area having a cat in the store is normal and the way things are in that area it's like good luck."

The petition had 750 signatures as of Tuesday afternoon.

"He's been there 14 years," one supporter, Carol Stovall, wrote. "It's his home and BESIDES, HD could use some personality!"

Home Depot officials told WTOC TV they are looking for someone to adopt Depot. But some worry what will happen if no one comes forward to give her a home.

"The cat did nothing to management, and if the cat is put into a shelter she'll be destroyed due to her age," the petition said.