When Manhattan bookstore owner Rob Warren announced that he'd have to shut his doors on Jan. 31 after 20 years in business, he worried about his future but also about the store's littlest patron: a live-in feline named Linda. Until, that is, he decided to adopt her himself.
"I have owned this rare bookstore since 1990, but times have changed," Warren tells PEOPLEPets.com, citing increased rents, larger chains and online book selling as reasons for closing Skyline Books. "There is no question many of my customers come here to see Linda and not my variety of unusual books."
But Warren, who owns two other cats, each about 15 years old, worried that his pets would not adjust well to Linda joining the family.
"After much contemplation, I decided to find a home for the two older ones with a woman who loves cats, so Linda can come home with me," Warren says. "I am so happy that this has worked out so Linda and I can continue to hang out!"
The 12-year-old, 15-lb. gray tabby loves the customers in Skyline Books, where she has lived for the past 10 years. First occupying a nearby neighboring hardware store, Linda would come to Skyline for lunch and a second dinner, and in time grew fond of the whole operation.
"When the owner of the hardware store departed the area, he left Linda behind, and we got her immediately," says Warren. "She fit right in, and we just love her. She is the sweetest cat."
And since Warren intends to pursue his book-selling business via other commercial means and spaces, Linda can continue to be around the things she loves: books and people.
"Linda truly feels comfortable around books, and she really loves people," says Warren. "It is dogs she can do without."
See more cats with character on PEOPLEPets.com:
Commuter Kitty! Meet Casper the Bus-Riding Cat
Animal D'Oh! Skunk the Cat Thinks He's a Gardener!
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