Have you heard of the all-time favorite brewery cat? This feline is the mascot and manager at Seventh Son Brewery in central Ohio.
Horatio was diagnosed with fibrosarcoma but after months of fighting, he is finally cancer-free, with high hopes for a full recovery. The crew at Seventh Son all lovingly call Horatio – Assistant Manager Cat.
When he was diagnosed, they were all devastated. As many people love Horatio and follow their work, they shared on social media:
“We know that many of you have heard that our favorite employee, Assistant Manager Cat (aka Horatio) has cancer in his right hind leg. Fibrosarcoma is more common than we realize in cats. We hope to use this moment to highlight feline cancer treatment and help other pets and their parents in a similar situation.”
Collin Castore, the co-founder of Seventh Son, explains how Horatio has been there since the early beginnings of their brewery. All the locals and employees have come to love and cherish their feline friend. As Collin said:
“He’s been our all-natural pest control, friend, and mascot almost from the time that we opened up. He just kind of wandered into the neighborhood and we fell in love with him. He’s a really great guy. All our guests love him, our staff loves him.”
Collin remembers that when they opened the brewery, they didn’t plan on having a cat mascot, or any mascot at all.
However, Horatio made it clear that he was the purrfect candidate for the job. The community loved him and so did the new brewery staff at the time.
“He was just so kind and sweet, hanging out with everyone while they’re on the patio, drinking beers and everything. He just kind of evolved into this mascot for us. We didn’t set out to be a brewery with a cat mascot. But somehow, here we are.”
Their love and “collaboration” has been going on for years, and they didn’t plan on stopping. However, finding out that Horatio has cancer devastated them all.
All their cuddling sessions were not in vain, since they helped diagnose Horatio’s cancer. All jokes aside, we all love petting our cats and cuddling with them, but this time it served an even greater purpose.
During one cuddle session, one of the employees felt a small lump on Horatio’s right leg and that’s when they took him to the vet and got his diagnosis.
With the help and donations of their local community and all of Horatio’s fans, the brewery staff were able to collect the money needed for his treatment. After finishing 19 radiation treatments, Horatio is coming back to work!
Ever since Horatio’s diagnosis, the brewery staff have been involved in humanitarian work and raising awareness about feline cancer.
Cancer can often come back after the treatment, but hopes are high and chances of it coming back are low for our beloved Ohio tabby.
As Horatio is doing better and everyone hopes he won’t get cancer again, 50% of donations are split between UC Davis’ Feline Cancer Research Fund and Ellie’s Rainy Day Fund, while the other 50% is saved for Horatio’s future treatment.
This amazing feline has managed to raise $10K for charity, and Collin announced they’ll distribute the funds once they reach their goal of $20K.
All the money will be donated, and they will continue to do fundraising events and sales if people want to continue donating to charity with them.
Thanks to their kindness and care, and all the donations of generous people, Horatio was able to recover and get the treatment he needed.
I hope his story motivates others to donate and help out their local shelters and animals in need. If you wish to see more of Horatio and all the work brewery crew has been doing, check out their Instagram page and website.
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