Conflict between customers and management at Tesco, Hornsea over ginger tabby who likes to visit the store

Op-ed: Lincoln is a ginger tabby indoor/outdoor cat who likes to wander quite a long way by the look of it from his home and in particular he likes to spend some time at the local Tesco in Hornsea, North Yorkshire.

He likes to rest on the compost by the front door and watch the comings and goings. He also likes to sit on the store's wheelchairs and also watch the comings and goings there as people collect their trolleys and return them.

Lincoln has become a feature at the store and the customers like to see him. He's a calming presence. He makes them smile. He adds a bit of soul among the fruit and veg.

Lincoln resting and watching on the compost bags as they are nice and comfy. Image: Facebook.

But the management are being a little bit narrowminded although I understand their position. They don't want Lincoln there and so they're going to gently encourage him not to come into the store. At least they are going to be gentle.

In response to this upsetting news, some customers have said that they are no longer going to return to the store. They will take their business elsewhere. And now as you can see, Lincoln is in the news, in news media outlets on the Internet and this will probably put a bit of pressure on management to change their point of view.

Firstly, I can't see any reason why they should get rid of Lincoln. What's he doing that upsets them? Apparently, they think it unhealthy to have a cat sitting on the compost bags but how can that be unhealthy? He's nowhere near the food. In any case, domestic cats are no worse a hazard to human health than other humans!

This is a misconception: the belief that domestic cats and dogs are disease carriers and are going to spread disease to all people. I think that if you did a bit of research on this you would find that humans give humans more diseases than cats give humans diseases. The same would apply to dogs.

That's really because nearly all diseases are not zoonotic. Most feline diseases stay in the cat world and they cannot jump across to the human world. There are some which can such as toxoplasmosis and Covid can also transmit both ways and bird flu too but the cat version of the common cold cannot affect people. Nor can cat flu and nor can a pile of other feline diseases affect people. So I don't know where this fear of cats carrying diseases comes from.

I think it is very unfortunate and a misplaced thought. I would hope that the management reconsider but if they don't, they're going to losing customers.

RELATED: Bodega cats. These are American corner shop cats. Lincoln is a shop cat and his presence should be embraced by a more enlightened management.

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P.S. please forgive the occasional typo. These articles are written at breakneck speed using Dragon Dictate. I have to prepare them in around 20 mins.

Cats living in greenhouses. Is it a good idea?

There's a story online today about cats living in greenhouses and it is described as something which is very good and in general terms I agree with that assessment. I love to see domestic cats in the working environment making the place more pleasant and giving it some soul. 

Oakridge Nursery & Landscaping resident cat. There are others. Photo: the nursery.

But is it a good idea because garden nurseries are full of plants (obviously)? The reason why I stress the word "plants" is because there are hundreds of plants that are poisonous to domestic cats. And, to compound the matter, some cats like to nibble plants in the same way that they like to nibble grass which, after all, is also a plant.

I'm not saying that it is automatically dangerous for a domestic cat to wander around a garden nursery, inside one of their large greenhouses as you see in the photograph. However, if I was a garden nursery owner and had a couple of working cats at the workplace, I would be anxious about their welfare. It would be a shame because I would love to have them there but I wouldn't allow it as much as for my well-being as for the cats'. I would not like to be in a state of constant low-level anxiety about the welfare of my cats. I've therefore got to come to the conclusion that it is not a great idea to have cats in greenhouses.

The story, incidentally, concerns Oakridge Nursery and Landscaping in Brandon, South Dakota. They have had cats at their workplace for many years, without problems? We are told that they weave in and out of annuals, perennials and gardening supplies. The cats are related and they are all named after plants such as Annabelle hydrangea! Great name by the way.

I am sure, too, that they amuse the customers and contribute to the profitability of the business. Working cats in stores always do. Visitors love to see them as they make the place emotionally warmer and more pleasant visit. Garden nurseries are already nice places to visit because of the smells and because they are about nature. Nature is very healing even if people don't realise it. But it is the reason why garden nurseries are pleasant places. Some people visit them just to have a coffee in the canteen!

No criticism is intended of this garden center. It looks great. I am highlighting a potential problem and in the worst-case scenario it is a serious problem.

See a page on house plants NOT poisonous to cats. And a page on the most popular house plants being poisonous to cats.

Source: Daily Paws via Yahoo.