Wellington's smitten with Mittens
Meet Mittens, cat extraordinaire.
The turkish angora has become a Wellington celebrity for his daily wanderings of the city’s central business district – many of which are then detailed on Facebook page The Wondrous Adventures of Mittens.
There is fan art, comparisons to other famous felines and photos of Mittens around town. There he is at West Plaza hotel on Wakefield St, the Last Footwear Company, the City to Sea Bridge, outside Te Papa and along Wellington’s waterfront.
‘‘Morning, has anyone spotted Mittens today? My daughter and I are out in town today and she really wants to meet him,’’ Jeanne-Mari Benn pleaded to the 11,049 members of the Facebook page on Saturday.
Mittens’ celebrity status came as a surprise to owner Silvio Bruinsma, even if his pet’s ramblings didn’t.
Before moving from suburban Auckland to Wellington, Mittens would often be spotted at the local supermarket or greengrocers.
‘‘Occasionally, I would get a call saying: your cat is here,’’ Bruinsma said.
But after moving to a home on the fringe of Wellington City two years ago, Mittens’ stomping ground became notably more public.
‘‘He has made Wellington his playground,’’ Bruinsma said.
Without his knowledge, SPCA set up the Facebook fan page so people could see that Mittens was indeed OK. It already had about 2000 followers when Bruinsma found the page and was given administrator rights.
Mittens has since been spotted at churches, a tattoo parlour, inside Glassons and is often seen walking down Cuba St and into Civic Square.
‘‘Sometimes he will stay out late and come in at 5am,’’ Bruinsma said.
Mittens does appear to have some road sense – probably a good thing as the Wellington Urban Motorway lies between home and the central city. He tends to use bridges and even reportedly waits at traffic lights.
Even so, Mittens’ ramblings do cause some concern for his family.
‘‘I suppose my philosophy is he doesn’t like being locked up and I don’t want to give him a life that is miserable,’’ Bruinsma said.
‘‘I have accepted there may be an accident at some point.’’
Bruinsma kept Mittens at home over the Christmas and New Year break when people got ‘‘a bit silly’’ in town but his feline is now back out – on the prowl.