Scottie The NYC Florist Cat

Our guest post today is about Scottie the cat (perhaps a distant relative of our Odin?) from Scott’s Flowers NYC

Spring flowers are blooming like mad in New York. I was in town yesterday to attend a taping of Oprah and loved walking about stopping to smell the flowers. The city comes alive with tourists, locals and at one flower shop, a cat.

Scottie the cat ventures out towards the sunlit storefront on bustling 37th street in the heart of Manhattan during a weekday morning commute. “Scott’s Flowers” beams across the window display in classic and tasteful white lettering.

As the morning progresses, a businessman walks by the store and scratches Scottie’s chin. Next, a woman bends down in high heels to pet the cat. Moments later a gentleman “meows” playfully at Scottie. Children can’t resist but give a friendly wave. Traffic literally stops as windows role down from automobiles to snap a picture. Another man drops to his knees to tie his shoes and low and behold, Scottie jumps gracefully onto the man’s shoulders. The man looks up and smiles, and judging by his reaction, this is a typical morning at 15 West 37th.

“Dozens and dozens of customers, friends, other local shop owners and tourists stop by everyday to say hello to Scottie,” says shop owner Robert Palliser Sr. “Scottie is a bit of a celebrity here!”

And he means it. Scottie has been covered in The New York Times, mentioned on MTV, written about in dozens of floral magazines, and even lead one Italian family to return to New York City to take a picture with Scottie years after they met this beloved cat.

Scottie even has the origins of a celebrity-like story. Originally meant to be the solution to a growing mouse problem at the old location of Scott’s Flowers, Scottie was found as a stray under the Kosciuszko Bridge in Brooklyn and rescued to then become a staple of 5th Avenue fame in no time.

Sadly, Scottie is getting up there in age. On watch for almost 16 years, the loveable cat has been the face of this family-owned flower shop for nearly two decades. Each and every day, Scottie showers the customers of Scott’s Flowers with affection, and practically begs for attention as he embraces each considerate scratch with his gentle purrs.

Robert Sr. proudly looks over at Scottie, and lets out an appreciative smile, which suggests that Scottie is a bit more than just a cat in a store window. Scottie is loved so dearly because he embodies years of small grins and kind gestures at Scott’s Flowers. He represents the countless mornings and endless afternoons of an entire community with which he has allocated his love for everyone to share. After all, Jean Cocteau, a French poet and novelist once said, “I love cats because I enjoy my home; and little by little, they become its visible soul.”