From Publix to Photoshoots: ‘Pickles the Cat’ stars in new 2024 calendar

Pickles the cat, famous for greeting customers outside a Publix grocery store in Fort Walton Beach, is now living indoors. But fans can still see the feline regularly in a new 2024 calendar.

• Photos taken by Pickles’ caretaker, Mike Sullivan, and admirers will appear in the calendar, including her Publix “employee of the month” picture.

• The calendars are scheduled for printing in October, with advertisements sold to cover production costs.

Calendars will sell for $20 each, with all proceeds going to Save Our Cats and Kittens (SOCKS), a nonprofit dedicated to finding forever homes for homeless, abandoned and neglected cats and kittens.

“Thank you all for the love and support you have given Pickles the past few years,” Sullivan said. “You can continue that love by buying a Pickles calendar, and it will support a great organization.”

• Those interested in placing an ad can email SOCKS volunteer Lorrain Lynn Whetstone, who is coordinating the calendar, at lorrainelynnwhetstone@gmail.com.

SOCKS aims to change Okaloosa County laws to benefit community cats like Pickles. The change would allow trap-neuter-return programs, a scientifically proven method of reducing the number of stray cats, according to Whetstone.

In TNR, cats are trapped, spayed or neutered, vaccinated for rabies and returned to their outdoor homes. While under anesthesia, a small part of their ear is “tipped” – the universal sign a cat has been sterilized.

TNR drastically cuts the stray cat population and problematic behaviors like spraying, yowling and fighting, advocates say.

According to SOCKS, hundreds of U.S. cities and counties, including nearby Escambia County and Crestview, Florida, have ordinances allowing TNR.