CATS

Tosca, SF’s most ‘fancy lookin’ shop cat, goes Twitter viral

In the picture, a dapper tuxedo cat is perched on a stool, with bottles of vermouth and some lip balm laid out tidily in the history.  The cat in problem: Tosca, the 8-calendar year-old shop cat at Nabila’s Naturals in San Francisco’s Hayes Valley community.

“Oh my God, she’s starting to be a movie star, this 1,” explained Ramiz Yousef, who owns and operates the shop with his wife, Elena Rios. 

There is a bevy of beloved local shop cats, and most San Francisco inhabitants declare their loyalty to a singular feline pal. But this degree of stardom feels a bit diverse — all thanks to her lovely little bow tie.

She’s grow to be something of an world-wide-web celeb ever given that this picture of her, shared Sunday, went viral on Twitter, amassing a lot more than 120,000 likes in a lot less than two times.

Tosca is about 8 or 9 yrs previous and was very first adopted in 2016, Rios reported. She recounted the initial time she and Yousef satisfied Tosca — a charming, feisty issue even sitting down within her small cage at the animal shelter. (If you’re pondering, her title is from the Puccini libretto. Yousef and Rios opted not to alter her title, emotion like it by now suited her so well.)

Tosca lying down on a Modelo box.

Tosca lying down on a Modelo box.

Courtesy of Elena Rios

“We attained Tosca … and we attempted to move to the next just one, the subsequent cage,” Rios told SFGATE. “She definitely acquired mad, and she did, like, [hissing sound] at Ramiz, and as shortly as she did that, my partner understood she was the one particular. That was a pretty exclusive minute correct there.” 

And in the more than 5 many years considering that she’s made Nabila’s her household, the ever-sociable Tosca has charmed lots of buyers — and even some nonshoppers who arrive by just to snap a photo and invest some time with her.

“She’s a extremely sociable female,” Rios claimed. “She enjoys greeting the shoppers and staying about individuals and often cling out behind the counter and on the lookout at the action — what’s heading on, who’s getting what.”

Tosca, Rios joked, will even just stand at the door, holding court docket for anyone who enters her natural foodstuff dominion.

“Sometimes, she stands at the door, and she stretches her very little paws, and every person, you know, she stops the traffic in front of the door,” Rios explained.

Tosca.

Tosca.

Courtesy of Elena Rios

As for the bow ties? Rios states they’re modified out seasonally, based on vacations and, in some cases, Tosca’s mood. When she gets bored of her collar, Rios stated, she gets fussy — moodily pacing all-around until it is adjusted. (She even has a robe that she wears on exclusive instances, Rios claimed.)

Both of those Rios and Yousef are overjoyed at their “little baby of the house” getting so a great deal adore on the internet. They only caught wind of it late Sunday evening, when Yousef spotted the photograph of Tosca earning the rounds on Twitter.


“We’re extremely satisfied that she receives to offer you her enjoy to so quite a few individuals and that she actually tends to make an affect and [gets to make] the working day a tiny sweeter to somebody each and every day.”

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