A Home Depot's resident cat has become a local celebrity with his swanky t-shirt collection

A trip to Home Depot is mostly taken when you need some essential tools, building materials and hardware supplies for some purpose. But a Home Depot store located in Mount Laurel, New Jersey, is giving its customers a special reason to visit them frequently. This Home Depot store houses an adorable cat named Leo, who is not only a permanent resident of the store but also a diligent employee. 

According to Philadelphia Magazine, Leo can be spotted prancing around the store wearing one of his many colorful t-shirts. The feline quickly became a local and internet sensation when a man named Jeff Simpkins—who goes by @cat_dad_2020 on TikTok—started sharing Leo's videos on his page. Ever since then, the page has gained over 350,000 followers who routinely tune in to witness the cat's adorable antics.

Leo became a helping hand at the New Jersey store by aiding the workers to solve their rodent problem and ever since then Leo has left his local shelter to become an expert mouse hunter at the store. Slowly, the word spread and customers started flooding into the store looking forward to petting the kitty rather than spending more time browsing through the hardware section. Either way, the Home Depot made a profitable move by adopting Leo.

"Customers come in the store every five minutes looking for him," the store manager John Vasquez told the outlet. Leo is spoiled with treats and gifts every time some cat-loving customer shows up. They even bring more colorful t-shirts for the furry employee. Leo was adopted by the New Jersey Home Depot staff in the summer of 2022 and it didn't take him long to climb up the ranks with his hunting skills and become employee of the month as well.

"He was used to living in large environments, outside at times, and being in a home wasn’t really going to work for him," Vazquez explained. "He was a skinny little thing when he came in." In one of the Instagram videos, we can see Leo's comfy office space complete with a cat tree, bowls for feeding and a cozy bed as well. Three staff members from the store share the caretaking responsibilities of the cat and make sure Leo is well-fed, happy and healthy.

"He doesn’t want to be left out of things, so if you have a team gathering after hours or before the store opens, he always makes an appearance," Vasquez added about Leo loving the attention. The feline starts his day by doing laps around the store as it opens for business and makes sure to stroll past the human staff members as they sit down for their morning meetings. He also rides around shopping carts whenever he pleases or takes a quick nap every now and then.

The cat also keeps the night shift employees company when the rest of the workers are gone. "Most of the cats I’ve known are introverted. He’s very outgoing. He likes people — he almost wants to show off for people when they’re around. He’s just one of a kind," Vasquez jokes. On the other hand, Simpkins has spotted a second cat at a Home Depot store in Deptford and has shared several videos of the second kitty named Cheeks. TikTok users couldn't help but gush at the dutiful kitties at Home Depot and left a lot of comments on Simpkins' videos.

@nachel250 wrote: "All Home Depot’s need to get a cat!! Do you know how much your profit would improve!" @tamarajaneheart: "Note to self: reincarnate into a cat who lives for free at Home Depot." @crazy_cat_lady5655 added: "Hopefully he's not able to get to any plants that are toxic to cats. But also he may be smart enough not to eat them." @carmarellooo wondered: "I don't know why more workspaces and stores don’t have office pets! I'd actually want to go to work then." We hope to see Leo and other Home Depot cats like him continue providing quality service to their customers in the future as well.