Interview With Smokey & Sunshine
Quick overview
Smokey and Sunshine are the humorous cat mascots of Top Tropicals. Based on real rescued cats, they use funny conversations to make gardening, plant care, and fertilizer advice easier to understand and remember.
Unfiltered · Uncaffeinated · Unhinged
Interview conducted by Michael Dubinovsky, Top Tropicals
Smokey & Sunshine: We are not "neuro-slop". We are locally produced nonsense with educational intent and artisanal quality control.
SMOKEY Black-and-white · Professor glasses · Engineering cat
SUNSHINE Fluffy orange · Ridiculous pants · Donut enthusiast
- Why are you two everywhere?
- SMOKEY Brand recognition. Educational continuity. Emotional retention. Also, nobody told us to stop.
- SUNSHINE Because people like cats. Especially charming orange cats. It is obvious
- Some people say they do not like you.
- SUNSHINE That is okay. I do not like empty donut boxes. We all have our crosses to bear.
- SMOKEY Not every communication style works for every person. The plant information is still there. We are simply the delivery system. A slightly chaotic, caffeinated delivery system.
- SUNSHINE A delicious delivery system.
- Someone called you "neuro-slop."
- SMOKEY Incorrect classification. We are locally produced nonsense with educational intent and artisanal quality control.
- SUNSHINE They clearly have not tried the donuts.
- SMOKEY The donuts are not relevant to the taxonomic discussion.
- SUNSHINE The donuts are ALWAYS relevant.
- Are Smokey and Sunshine real cats?
- SUNSHINE Absolutely. Based on very real cats rescued by Top Tropicals, with very real opinions and very real dietary requirements.
- SMOKEY And very different work ethics.
- SUNSHINE Smokey calls my work ethic "different." I call it "flexible."
- Which one is Smokey?
- SUNSHINE Black-and-white cat. Glasses. Looks like a professor who missed his own retirement party because he was still explaining photosynthesis to a houseplant.
- SMOKEY That is... not inaccurate.
- Which one is Sunshine?
- SMOKEY Fluffy orange cat. Ridiculous pants. Coffee in one hand, donut in the other. Asking the questions that make me pause, breathe, and explain things more carefully.
- SUNSHINE The pants are NOT ridiculous. They are statements.
- SMOKEY The pants are ridiculous.
- SUNSHINE Fashion-forward.
- What is your job?
- SMOKEY I explain plants, fertilizer, growing conditions, and why things work. With rigor. With precision. With footnotes, where time allows.
- SUNSHINE I ask what normal people are thinking.
- SMOKEY Together we are a balanced ecosystem.
- SUNSHINE He means I make him tolerable.
- Why does Sunshine always have donuts?
- SMOKEY Predictable visual branding. Instant character recognition. Association with comfort and approachability.
- SUNSHINE Breakfast. Also, second breakfast. Occasionally lunch. Why is this controversial?
- SMOKEY It is not controversial. It is predictable. Which is what branding is.
- SUNSHINE See, he eventually comes around to my side on everything.
- Why does Smokey wear glasses?
- SUNSHINE Because every engineering cat needs professor glasses. It adds more credibility per explanatory sentence.
- SMOKEY They are non-prescription. I would like that on the record.
- SUNSHINE He wears fake glasses and still acts like the smartest person in the greenhouse. Respect, honestly.
- Are the conversations based on real life?
- SMOKEY Frequently. Most begin as real questions about plants, fertilizer, shipping, or business operations. We simply dramatize them.
- SUNSHINE And occasionally about coffee and donuts.
- SMOKEY Those ones were not dramatized.
- Why do cats and plants go so well together?
- SMOKEY Both require patience, observation, and routine care. A garden teaches you to slow down and notice small changes.
- SUNSHINE Same with cats.
- SMOKEY Plants and cats both turn a house into a living home.
- SUNSHINE And both make the house feel alive.
- SMOKEY A home is simply a house where love lives. All you need is love.
- SUNSHINE And love, in many cases, has whiskers. All you need is cat.
- SMOKEY Add a few plants and a few cats, and you no longer have just a house.
- SUNSHINE You have a home.
- SMOKEY Plants and cats will occupy the exact sunny spot you were saving for something else. Every time. Without apology.
- SUNSHINE Cats do not apologize. This is a feature, not a flaw.
- Do you really help people learn?
- SMOKEY Humor demonstrably improves retention. People remember significantly better when it is attached to an emotional response.
- SUNSHINE He is saying people remember stuff better when they smile. He cannot help himself without fancy words. We have tried.
- Are you replacing serious plant advice?
- SMOKEY No. We make serious plant advice easier to remember. We are a delivery mechanism, not a substitution.
- SUNSHINE Also less boring. That part is important. Smokey, say it is important.
- SMOKEY ...It is not unimportant.
- SUNSHINE Close enough.
- Will you stop appearing?
- SMOKEY Unlikely. Our audience engagement metrics do not support retirement.
- SUNSHINE Unless the donuts stop. Then I resign, effective immediately, with full dramatic flair.
- SMOKEY The donuts are not stopping.
- SUNSHINE Then we are here.
- Can readers ignore you?
- SMOKEY Certainly. They can also ignore vegetables. People make choices.
- SUNSHINE But why would anyone ignore this much orange excellence? It defies reason.
- SMOKEY Some people are very committed to reason.
- SUNSHINE Their loss.
- Who is smarter?
- SMOKEY Smokey.
- SUNSHINE I was going to say Smokey too. It saves time and he gets this little satisfied look that is genuinely adorable.
- SMOKEY I do not have a look.
- SUNSHINE He has a look.
- Why are you sometimes ridiculous?
- SMOKEY Gardening should be educational. Humor lowers resistance and raises receptivity. I have data on this.
- SUNSHINE And fun. Fun is the reason. Fun, coffee, and donuts. That is the complete list.
- SMOKEY I did not say fun.
- SUNSHINE You implied fun. Right between "humor" and "data."
- Are you available for adoption?
- SMOKEY No. We are fully employed and receive compensation in treats and strategic donut access.
- SUNSHINE The snack benefits are outstanding. Five stars, would be rescued again.
- SMOKEY However — and this part matters — Top Tropicals is currently home to more than 30 cats. Some were rescued. Some simply appeared one day and decided they fit well here. Much like most good things in life.
- SUNSHINE If you have room in your heart and home, please adopt from your local shelter or rescue group. You will save a life and gain a tiny supervisor who takes the job extremely seriously.
- SMOKEY And send us a picture. We would genuinely love to see your new feline colleague.
- SUNSHINE We will judge their vibe and report back.
- SMOKEY We will offer warm and supportive feedback.
- SUNSHINE That too.
- How can we meet you in real life?
- SMOKEY You may encounter us at TopTropicals.com. Subscribe to the newsletter, where we dispense horticultural wisdom, growing tips, and occasional unsolicited opinions about soil pH.
- SUNSHINE He means sign up. We show up in your inbox. It is like adopting us but without the fur on your couch.
- SMOKEY There is also a physical option, for those who prefer cats in three dimensions.
- SUNSHINE Our entire pack — flock — company — listen, we have never agreed on the collective noun —
- SMOKEY A theorem of cats. I have proposed this repeatedly.
- SUNSHINE Nobody voted for theorem.
- SMOKEY Nobody voted at all. The process was never formalized.
- SUNSHINE ANYWAY. You can meet the full Top Tropicals cat situation in person at our Garden Center in Fort Myers, Florida.
- SMOKEY We have designated it PeopleCats.garden. Because it belongs to the cats. The people are guests.
- SUNSHINE Honored guests. Who sometimes bring snacks.
- SMOKEY Please visit. The plants are extraordinary. The cats are also present.
- SUNSHINE We will be the ones judging whether you are worthy of the sunny bench. Spoiler: you probably are. We are generous judges.
- SMOKEY Sunshine once approved someone purely because they smelled like a glazed donut.
- SUNSHINE That was a character reference AND a compliment.