Graham The Cat Visits Pet Store Every Day

Meet the cheeky cat who must think he’s lost all his nine lives and gone to feline heaven.

A ginger-and-white tom - nicknamed ‘Graham’ – has adopted a giant pet shop stuffed with toys, food and fish, as his second home.

For the past few months he's been visiting the Pets at Home store in Boston, Lincolnshire, every day – even waiting outside for the doors to open at 9am.
Graham sprawled on the ground in front of the shop's automatic doors as he waits to be let in.

Once inside, he wanders over to the till enclosure and opens the staff gate with his paw before jumping on the counter.

Graham can also be seen attempting to claw his way - unsuccessfully - into a rodent enclosure and staring transfixed at a goldfish tank.

Deputy manager Vicky Coker said: ‘Sometimes he sits on the mat and greets customers as they come in.’

As for the pets for sale, staff insist that he doesn’t scare them at all.

George Tarbox, 19, who’s worked at the store for five months, said: 'Curiously enough, the animals here don’t react to him. They’re not scared at all. Anyway, they’re protected by a plastic screen, so he doesn’t cause any harm. That’s why we like him. He likes to sit and watch the rodents, dragons and fish we have in store.

‘Initially we discouraged him from coming in, but he kept coming back.

‘We thought it wouldn't be very good to keep shooing him out as pets are always welcome here - although they're usually on a lead when they come in.’

Graham spends hours at a time at the store and staff feed him the occasional treat to stop him thieving products that are for sale and play with him using toys that won’t be sold.

And so far their tactics are working.

Mr Tarbox added: ‘We have caught him chewing on a packet of cat food before, but he's generally no trouble.

‘He's become a bit of a celebrity too as we often have customers asking where he is.

‘The kids, especially, love him. He’s a big draw for them.'

Mr Tarbox says he’s claimed ownership of Graham because he named him – but believes he does have an owner, as he has a collar.

Staff have no idea who it is, though.

Graham never spends the night at the store because it has a motion-activated alarm that he would set off.

Instead, he's put outside at the end of the day and left to find his way home to his owner, whoever it is.

'We always say to him "see you tomorrow," said Mr Tarbox. "Because we know he'll be back."

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