Visitors to Love Lane for last night’s First Friday celebration were welcomed by the sounds of music playing in the twilight, the aroma of tantalizing fare such as crepes served up outside area shops.
And they were met by an unlikely sight — a cat stretched out like a king on his very own kitty-sized lounge chair, so relaxed he didn’t budge even as a steady stream of amazed onlookers stopped to take photos.
Wegman, who belongs to Danielle LaScala, owner of Mattituck Florist and her best friend “forever” Pam Reimer, is a rescue, found when the pair where on a business trip in Pennsylvania. “We found him together so we say he belongs to both of us,” LaScala said last night.
He was found, half-starved and covered with ticks, living at the hotel where they were staying last summer.
And they couldn’t forget his big green eyes.
“We were watching him from the third floor, and saw him sitting down by the fire pit in the courtyard,” Reimer said. The two friends went and got dinner from Wegmans, their favorite supermarket, and shared their meal with the orange kitty, who jumped right up onto their laps.
They asked hotel staff if he belonged onsite and were told that the friendly feline had just been hanging around for days.
Reimer said she was reluctant to bring him back to the shop because they had dogs and also, a bird already in residence.
But LaScala was resolute. “I’m taking him home,” she said. And, of course, they named him Wegman, to mark their first dinner together.
And so, the heroines brought their lucky new friend back to Mattituck, where they lavish him with love and creature comforts, including the cat-sized lounge chair, a hammock, and costumes for Christmas.
“He’s the perfect cat,” LaScala said. “So photogenic.”
Wegman gets along famously with his new four-footed pals, including the dogs, as well as a lizard and Louie the bird. Doris Coniglio, who also works at the shop, said her dog Gracie adores him.
He submits graciously to baths and gets his nails clipped, no problem. And even gives “high fives” for photos with a tiny paw.
Weggy, as he’s affectionately dubbed, comes running when called in for mealtimes.
He’s become the unofficial mascot of Mattituck Florist and of Love Lane, a purring crowd pleaser who greets strangers with enthusiastic meows.
One customer even tucked Wegman right under his arm last week and brought him out to the back garden to meet his family, LaScala said. Clients come in and bypass staffers, heading straight for Wegman. “They ask us, ‘Where’s the cat?'” LaScala laughed.
Wegman’s so popular that LaScala’s in the process of creating a calendar, featuring an array of his adorable poses, to be sold on Love Lane.
And he’s touched countless hearts in the time he’s spent in his new home.
“He makes you happy,” Reimer said. “He’s a love, just a joy. I think he knows we took him from a bad place. He makes your heart sing.”
