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 since the area surrounding our garden center has been developed and the fields in which they hunted are now a busy road and residential area.

Grey Kitty 6, or as we affectionately call her, Miss (Grey) Kitty was abandoned in our parking lot during a snowstorm in 2006.  She is the first female Grey Kitty we have had, and she certainly is a strong and assertive young "lady."  Her image was made into a cartoon image by one of our plant tag companies, Norwood, and now her "retro" image appears in all our advertising.

Another Tagawa mascot, our white kitty, China, came to us from a very special situation in 1998.  China was a rambunctious, active and very vocal kitty who could 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 homes and a busy stree), China lived the rest of her life at an employee's home.

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 Container Gardens, Hanging Baskets, Roses, Poinsettias, Geraniums and other items grown here in our greenhouses.

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. Everyone can enjoy birthday cake to celebrate the occasion. The Grey Kitty tradition continues at Tagawa - come visit her 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. During our Pet Adoption Event in July, our Cats with Gratitude™ Silent Auction and our Holiday Gifts for Pets & Their People, Tagawa Gardens collects over $10,000* each year that goes directly to animal rescue groups! (*based on 2007.)

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.