A Wellington theatre has enjoyed a day in the company of a celebrity cat, days before a professional production of Cats the musical.
Popular feline personality Mittens spent Wednesday at the Michael Fowler Centre, sleeping inside one of the theatre's offices.
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Mittens is well known among Wellington locals for his tendency to visit homes and businesses while he wanders the city.
The fluffy ginger cat is supposedly very soft and silent.
Event manager Oliver Labone told Newshub Mittens got into the Michael Fowler centre around 7:30am when the first office workers arrived.
From there he mostly slept through the day, only waking to clean himself.
One staff member was so excited to see Mittens they were almost hyperventilating with joy after discovering he was hanging out in the office part way through the day.
Labone said it was nice to have a friendly animal in the office and Mittens was certainly welcome to hang out there.
"People love him, he's a beautiful cat and so incredibly soft," Labone told Newshub.
Mittens was still in the theatre when it came time to close, so he was gently removed from the building.
But it's not easy to get rid of him and he managed to sneak back inside, prompting staff members to have to track him down and remove him again.
Photos published on the Facebook group The Wondrous Adventures of Mittens show he eventually made his way to the waterfront and spent the night hanging out there.
Labone said staff at the theatre loved having him there though and hope to see him back soon. One member of staff even recently remarked they miss having Mittens around.
Friday would be a good day for Mittens to come back if he wants to, as the theatre will be showing the musical Cats by Andrew Lloyd Webber.
Mittens' owners are okay with his celebrity wanderings in Wellington and say people are welcome to hang out with him.
They have requested the public refrain from feeding him through, to ensure he returns home when he needs to.
Newshub.
