Pickles, beloved stray cat at Florida Publix, taken by tourists, returned

For the past five years, visitors to a Publix grocery store in Fort Walton Beach, Florida have been met by a special greeter — a brown and red-tinged feline named Pickles.

Pickles, for many, has become the unofficial mascot for the area surrounding the store, with employees taking care of her on a regular basis.

But the feline recently became the center of a social media firestorm that was created when it was announced that she was taken from the area.

Although she is now safe, citizens in Fort Walton Beach who have taken care of her are now wondering whether she would be safe to return to the nest she has made for herself.

What happened?

It all started June 30, when a couple came to the area on vacation from Louisiana.

During their trip to Florida's Emerald Coast, the couple went to Publix and saw Pickles lying on her side. They then took her, gave her water and a bath, and planned to take her to a cat sanctuary where Pickles could live the rest of her nine lives in peace.

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But the next day, the community erupted on social media with hundreds of comments on both of Pickles' Facebook fan pages. In total, about 4,000 people were interested in Pickles' whereabouts.

"I got a frantic message Friday morning," said 99 Rock host and Pickles fan Kevin McKay. "It was a shock that anyone would take her from her home...that's our cat."

"She may be a stray, but she is our stray," said Betty Tarbuck on Facebook.

Also, at one point, a community member offered a $500 reward for Pickles' safe return.

On July 2, after the significant show of support from the online community, a post on one of the Pickles fan pages on Facebook said that the couple who had taken Pickles would return her to the local area. The fan pages also announced that Dr. Heather Hartley of the Companion Animal Hospital and Boarding Center in Fort Walton Beach is temporarily housing the cat for a medical check-up.

Pickles update?

"Pickles is doing great," Hartley said. "Her bloodwork came back perfect, and she appears in good health, besides being overweight."

Hartley also started a fundraiser on GoFundMe and raised $1,720 of the $1,000 goal as of Friday afternoon.

"This page has been set up regarding the care of Publix Pickles," the GoFundMe post said. "Many individuals have reached out wanting to donate towards her care and any other Pickles awareness media/signs that we get approval for. I was planning to cover the cost myself and will cover anything that isn’t covered. Any money that is donated above and beyond her needs will be used to start a Fort Walton Beach Stray Cat Community Fund, with Pickles being the face of the Fund and story. We often have stray cats come in and need medical care, and this will cover those costs. We will create an additional FB page to keep the community updated on what the funds are being used for. We will be very transparent regarding Pickles' care and cost. We want the community’s support in helping Pickles and her feline friends!"

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Hesitation on the return

The original plan for Pickles was to keep her at the hospital until after the Fourth of July celebrations had concluded.

But after some vitriolic comments were made on social media that seemed to threaten Pickles' well-being, Hartley and her caretakers at Publix are hesitant to return her to the Publix that she made her home.

"With all the publicity, we are questioning if she should return," Hartley said. "The risk of her being taken or harmed is high, and the caretakers of her are collaborating on this to determine what her future holds and where she will live."

This article originally appeared on Northwest Florida Daily News: Pickles, missing Publix cat brings Fort Walton Beach, Florida together