PeopleCats Botanical Garden Grand Opening
Guided tour with Mark Hooten
Top Tropicals Garden Center is pleased to invite you to visit our new PeopleCats Botanical Garden on the grounds of Top Tropicals in Ft
Myers. It is named in honor of the relationship with our beloved Cats, who we treat like People. You'll see our Garden PeopleCats roaming the property. As a matter of fact, they rule
the garden!
The Garden has many mature trees and plants so you can see what they look like before your purchase them in our Garden Center. And of course, our
PeopleCats will be guiding you in the Gardens!
Tea and Jam with the PeopleCats – A Tropical Afternoon Beneath the Randia
Meet the cats behind the jam! The tuxedo cat is none other than Google-the-cat - our beloved elder and one of the original cat-fathers of Top Tropicals PeopleCats.garden. At 18 years old, he’s still sharp, curious, and very much in charge. The orange fluffball? He represents the universal image of cat joy - and we’ve got a few real-life orange sunshine
residents just like him.
Why do you include cats in a plant newsletter?
Because they’re part of the garden. Our rescued PeopleCats live among the plants, nap under the
mango trees, inspect new arrivals, and occasionally steal a sunspot meant for seedlings. They’re not mascots — they’re part of our team. Sharing their presence is like showing a part of the soul of our space.🐈
Are the cat images real or AI-generated?
All our cats are real! We take lots of pictures and videos. And a few images are AI-generated illustrations inspired by our real PeopleCats.garden residents. While not literal photographs, they are creative interpretations that capture the spirit of
our tropical home and its furry citizens.🐾
Are the stories about the cats true?
Mostly! The jam-making, tea-drinking, and greenhouse meetings are creative interpretations - but inspired by real personalities. We use AI scenes to bring their spirit to life.
Real cats. Real plants. Imagined adventures.🐱
Cat of the month:
Persephone
The Queen of the Underworld
Well, well, well... it seems we have a new purrsonality around
here! A few days ago, we discovered a mysterious little purrrson living under
the TopTropicals office. Did a customer leave her behind? Or was she simply
drawn to our PeopleCats paradise? Who can say! Either way, since she made her grand
entrance from the underground, we decided to name her Persephone, after the
Greek goddess and Queen of the Underworld.
Persephone has come a long way - she finally let us pet her, and now
she's taken over the office desk! She even drools a little when she gets those
precious head scratches. Persephone has officially joined our Nursery Team,
adding her charm to Customer Service
Come and see our PeopleCats (including the Queen herself!) in purrrrson at our Garden Center in Ft Myers, Florida!
"One cat just leads to another..." - Ernest Hemingway
Most PlantPeople are also PetPeople, and many of them are CatPeople - people who have PeopleCats!
Here @TopTropicals, we find that combination both fun and incredibly productive in the garden! Currently, we have over 30 cats across our two locations - each one rescued, with many of them coming from uncertain beginnings, lucky to have found their sweet home with us.
At TopTropicals Garden Center, we're proud to be a cat-friendly plant facility. Our cats play an integral role in our daily routine, showering us with love and even making us better people. Our team takes great care of them, with cat care being part of their daily tasks.
PeopleCats of TopTropicals. Cats of the day: Biggy's Cat Hospital
Biggy checking on patient Abu when he couldn't walk
During these challenging times for the whole planet, we receive kind
letters from our customers checking on how our PeopleCats are doing, especially those that previously were ill. And
since we promised to follow up on everyone, including heart-breaking story of
Raja and Abu, today's report is about everybody's progress!
As we mentioned in our previous newsletter, several cats in TopTropicals
Cat Sanctuary had a coronavirus (we call it COVID-Cat-20), or simply a cat respiratory infection. Chiefy, Snitch, Marco and Biggy had it really bad, but some other PeopleCats surprisingly didn't
get it! Just like with humans. Lucky King didn't have a single sneeze!
Finally, everybody has recovered by now, but it has been a very stressful
couple of weeks for us, considering limited vet availability at this stay-home
time. On top of that, Lil S had an abscess and was also contained in a home hospital, away
from flu-quarantined PeopleCats. Our homes become real cat hospitals!
We are thankful to our customers support, especially Silvia who made
several donations for our PeopleCats, and also recommended antiseptic pads - those worked great for Lil S! Abu and Raja's adventures were not over... After 2 weeks of seeing a
vet treating their infections and injuries, they got worse... Then after a
couple of weeks in another hospital (and a couple thousand more in bills) we were
suggested to put them down as hopeless since they would never walk again...
But Kristi did not want to believe it, she did not give up! The kittens heard
her. They won. Today, they are all better, walking, jumping and playing!
Thank you Kristi!
Never give up hope!
Stay safe and healthy with your PeoplePets!
TopTropicals PeopleCat Club
Thank you everybody for supporting us in helping PeopleCat Community! Make
your kind donation today and receive a surprise gift from us. Every little
bit helps! Thank you and God bless you and your pets!
Meet PeopleCats of TopTropicals. Cat of the Day: Lucky Abu
"You will always be lucky if you know how to make friends with
strange cats".
Colonial American Proverb
- our last Cat of The Day Itembi started with this quote... and guess what, it
proved right again!..
Right around the corner from TopTropicals, in the woods, Kristi noticed
a skinny poor cat... she looked so miserable, just bones and skin... she
could hardly walk and looked injured. And yet she had 2 kittens following her!
The Cat Family could use some meal and a warm home. Unfortunately they seemed
to be feral and wouldn't let Kristi pick them up.
Compassionate Kristi spend couple days brainstorming how to save these poor
PeopleCats in need. She ended up setting a trap and... bingo! The first
Little Purrson found its forever sweet home at TopTropicals!
...The cat groomer Lindsey came home from school. First bath time... the
kitty smelled like poop! Soon the bath time was over... Full of fleas, and it's
a boy!
Remember that every dollar you spend on TopTropicals plants, is split
between plant growers and PeopleCats who are our all-time companions and
helpers in our daily hard work! We thank our customers for buying plants and thank
our PeopleCats for keeping us cool, kind, and happy!
Meet PeopleCats of TopTropicals. Cat of the day: Russian Blue - a true Angel
Many customers ask if they can adopt one of our PeopleCats. Sorry, the answers is no, because they are not only members
of our family, but also valuable employees who help us around the nursery:
to grow and ship plants, work on construction projects, and even take care of
property security. However, we can give some advise on what kind of cats make
the most purrrfect companions.
If you are searching for a pet with a heart of an Angel, who is gentle and
loving, the Russian Blue is the perfect purrson to add to your family. The
Russian Blue breed comes in beautiful shades of gray, varying from a light
shimmering silver to a darker, slate gray. Their short, dense coat has been the
hallmark of the Russian breed for more than a century. It is a naturally
occurring breed originated in the port of Arkhangelsk in Russia. They are also
sometimes called ArchAngel Blues. It is believed that sailors took Russian Blues
from the Archangel Isles to Great Britain and Northern Europe in the
1860s.
Throughout the history of Top Tropicals, we've had many Russian Blues,
including famous Wesley, Marco, and King that are loved by everyone.
In the photo: TopTropicals editor Alex with Gosha -
manager of the Puppet Kingdom, Museum of Dolls in Preili, Latvia
In the photo: King is checking security of the new
window
TopTropicals PeopleCat Club and Zoo
Thank you for supporting us in helping PeopleCat Community! Make
your kind donation today and receive a surprise gift from us! Every little
bit helps. Thank you and God bless you and your pets!
In our previous newsletter, we were talking about cats fighting the coronavirus and how to help them to recover.
The research made by Sabina Olex-Condor, a Polish doctor who works in a
clinic in Madrid, showed that due to cross-immunity (cats are a known reservoir
of coronaviruses) cat owners have milder sympthoms of COVID-19! Perhaps this
is due to the fact that in a cross-reaction antibodies are produced to the
virus, and owners of cats are more protected from COVID19... Read more)
Now that quarantine has been introduced almost universally because of
coronavirus, dog owners are also in a better position - they can officially go
outside for a short while. But the benefit of dogs (and other pets) is not only
that. Scientists from the Italian city of Catanzaro found in the course of
the study, that those who have a four-legged pet, have very mild symptoms of
the COVID-19. A similar effect was observed in those in contact with cattle...
To find an explanation for this phenomenon, the researchers compared viruses.
It turned out that the disease of bulls, cows and other cattle is similar to
Chinese coronavirus by 38.4%, and the virus of dogs by 36.9%. This means
that owners of animals already have some kind of immunity. So the owners of cats
and dogs, as a rule, tolerate coronavirus easier or completely asymptomatic.
Read more...
Stay safe and healthy with your PetPeople!
TopTropicals PeopleCat Club
Thank you everybody for supporting us in helping PeopleCat Community! Make
your kind donation today and receive a surprise gift from us. Every little
bit helps! Thank you and God bless you and your pets!
"Hold a true friend with both hands"
- Nigerian proverb -
Cat friends, thank you for your support!
"...Dear Friends at Top Tropicals,
Thank you for your Photo of Saint Gertrude of Nivelles. I did not know about her. Now I can
meditate upon her to help all cats. Our pets, plants, and loved ones will help us
during this world crises. My bees and garden certainly help me.
Again, thank you for your plant advertisements, (they are an education in
themselves) and for your caring about I gatti! Saint Gertrude will help!
All best regards, auguri, di Frank La Rosa Mazza di Del Mar, California"
Mr B is saying Hi and for those asking about his GPS on his collar:
he uses Tractive for his
personal cell service. Mr B makes 2-3 miles a day, staying active and healthy.
Not bad for a 13 y.o. cat!
Meet PeopleCats of TopTropicals. Cat of the Day: King the Hobo
"Live, travel, adventure, bless, and don't be sorry." - Jack Kerouac
King, who has been famous with his ability to get in trouble, without a
doubt is the Cat of the day, week, and month. His recent adventure went
above and beyond our expectations. King decided to take a ride.
He jumped inside the truck of our supplier from Homestead, for very
innocent reason: inspect the quality of plants delivered. No questions asked, he did
his job.
Next thing we remember was the driver calling us on his way to Homestead: "Looks like I have your cat in my truck, and he is pretty happy with the ride!"
Luckily, the discovery of the Hobo happened pretty quickly, before the
truck left Ft Myers area. So King did not get all the way to Homestead as he
planned, his adventure was interrupted. He was dropped off at Edison Estate Botanical Garden. The director Eric happen
to know TopTropicals well, just visiting us a few days before for the Leap Year Celebration
event. He kept King in his office until Onika came to pick him up.
What an adventure!
Dear visitors of Top Tropical Garden Center! When leaving our Nursery,
please check your vehicles for cats! Apparently, they like to travel!
Thank you everybody for supporting us in helping PeopleCats. Every dollar you spend on TopTropicals plants is split
between plant growers and PeopleCats who help us become better people.
