When a little black kitten showed up at a bookstore in St. Louis, Missouri, he decided to make himself at home, and 11 years later – he pretty much runs the place.
Spike was just a couple months old when he wandered by the windows of Left Bank Books, an independent bookstore in St. Louis. The staff immediately became concerned for the little black cat, roaming around by himself, they swooped him up and brought him inside.
Assuming that the tiny kitten was abandoned or orphaned, the Left Bank Books staff decided that he would officially be adopted as the ‘store cat,’ and ever since – he’s been in absolute heaven.
As it turns out, the bookstore has a history of adopting cats. In fact, there were two black cats that resided at Left Bank Books before Spike became the head honcho.
The bookstore has become Spike’s permanent, full-time home – he lives there 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, and he couldn’t be happier about it. He greets guests when the store is open and keeps an eye on things when the store is closed.
“He has everything he needs: food, water, endless new books to sleep under,” Lauren Wiser, marketing and publicity manager at Left Bank Books, told The Dodo. “We say he’s our night manager. He keeps an eye on all the books until the shop opens in the morning.”
Since Spike has lived at the bookstore since he was just a little baby, he knows every inch of the space like the back of his paw.
The long-haired black cat loves finding open spots on the bookshelves to lounge and take naps. Although, if there’s not an empty space on the shelf, he’s happy to just curl up on top of a pile of books.
Despite being a cat, Spike has a very big presence in the store. The staff is absolutely in love with him and the customers will stop by just to say hello and give him a scratch behind the ear.
“Spike loves working at the bookstore,” Wiser said. “He even has his own Staff Pick page on the website. His favorite things to do are sleep in the display window so people outside can adore him, sleep under a bright light where it’s warm, sleep in a director’s chair downstairs in the used books, sleep on top of new displays (to make sure people notice them, of course) and interrupt staff meetings.
Spike’s irresistible demeanor has made him a bit of a local celebrity in St. Louis – he even has his own Instagram account.
“People love to see Spike wandering the shelves,” Wiser said. “I think one of the questions we get asked most, besides questions about certain books, is, ‘Where’s Spike?’ Sometimes we can guess where he is, and sometimes he hides from all of us! It’s really Spike’s choice whether he wants to come out and greet his adoring fans. Some of our customers even bring in treats for him. Spike gets Christmas presents every year!”
Like a good employee, Spike makes sure to show up at every author appearance or big event at the store. He likes to roam around the room, weaving in between legs and chairs, saying hello to everyone in attendance. Of course, he also likes to show off.
“When he’s feeling frisky, he’ll jump on top of shelves and make everyone nervous,” Wiser said. “Sometimes we’re not even sure how he climbs up to certain places! He also tries to ‘inspect’ the bagels at our staff meetings. Once he flung about 100 shopping bags all around the floor under the front desk. We didn’t even get mad at him, we just caught it on video because it was so funny.
At just 11 years old, Spike has many more years ahead of being the best bookstore cat ever. If you’re ever in St. Louis – make sure to say hello. Be sure to follow his Instagram account too!
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