Our "Grey Kitty Tradition" began in 1986 with the adoption of a very handsome, friendly Russian Blue mix cat that was found near the home of one of our employees in downtown Denver. He soon won all of our hearts (including our customers and their children's) with his mellow, happy, friendly demeanor. His "special comments" to customers began appearing in our advertising, and the rest is history.

Grey Kitty 1 delighted customers and our employees with his antics and loving ways. He lived with us until we lost him to cancer in 1990. Grey Kitty 2 came to us with the help of the Denver Dumb Friends League, who helped us adopt a replacement for our beloved mascot. Grey Kitty 2 was mellow, peaceful and quiet, and lived with us for an additional 10 years of his life, where he lived a happy life of visiting with customers, children and being spoiled by our employees-he loved tummy rubs :). When we adopted him, he had dental concerns and liver disease, however he received excellent care from his team of veterinarians, as well as our super-attentive employees. He passed away at 15 in 2000 from complications due to hyperthyroidism and a leaky thoracic duct. The Dumb Friends League came to the rescue again, when they helped us find Grey Kitty 3, who was extremely mellow and loved to have his tummy rubbed, too!  Grey 3 had anemia and took a natural iron supplement, however he still slept a lot, even for a cat.  He mysteriously disappeared from our store during a day in June of 2002.

Grey Kitty 4 and 5 are our current mascots.  Grey 4 ("Fuzzy Grey") was adopted from Max Fund, who found a tiny grey kitty alone on the Denver city streets. They knew we were grey kitty-less and kindly provided this kitty to us, for which we are deeply appreciative.

Grey 5 ("Smoky Grey") was adopted from the Dumb Friends League Adoption Van when they visited us at our 20th Anniversary Party in August of 2002.  Amazingly enough, Grey Kitty 5's birth date was the exact date that Grey Kitty 2 passed away...

Currently, both Grey 4 and 5 are "On Holiday" at Mr. Tagawa's home while the construction goes on all around us.

Our other Tagawa mascot, our white kitty, China, came to us from a very special situation is 1998.  China is a rambunctious, active and very vocal kitty who can sometimes be a little moody :).  Her loud, very recognizable voice could be heard throughout the greenhouse, telling us all of her exciting days at Tagawa.  Due to the construction all around us and China's propensity to roam the fields close to our greenhouses (which recently have been turned into home and townhomes), China is currently "On Holiday" at one of our employees homes.

Grey Kitty's face smiling in the flowers adorns our newspaper and other advertising as well as our web site. His pawprints are on the back of our employee's shirts, and trail their way across our letterhead and other correspondence. His name is a registered trademark, and can be seen on our products unique to Tagawa's-Grey Kitty® Purr-furred Patio Planters and Grey Kitty® Pawfurred Perennials to name a few.

Grey Kitty is more than just a mascot and "advertising gimmick"-he is a community resource. In honor of him, we have a Dumb Friends League collection statue on the premises so visitors may contribute at any time. He sponsors a pet information event in July called Grey Kitty® Birthday Party. Visitors can enjoy information about many local animal organizations and meet with cats, dogs, bunnies, guinea pigs, horses and other animals from nonprofit animal rescue groups; learn about natural pet care; pet and learn about farm animals from an educational petting zoo inside our greenhouse. There is face painting for kids of all ages, plus birthday cake to celebrate the occasion. The Grey Kitty tradition continues at Tagawa - come visit him today!

The Grey Kitty® Memorial Fund, started when Grey Kitty 2 passed away, collected over $1000 for local animal organizations in the months after his death and continues to sponsor a cat kennel at The Dumb Friends League during their annual telethon. A memorial garden is located on the premises near our front door, remembering our previous Grey Kitties and other mascots Jasper and J.J. We invite you to spend a few moments remembering them and your own special pets whose spirits are always alive in our hearts.