Duluth’s First Walking Cat Tour
About
To celebrate International Cat Day, Wired Whisker is hosting a whimsical neighborhood stroll on Friday, August 8th, where cat lovers can admire real cats lounging in windows along a ~3 mile loop of the cafe!
More Information
Q: What is a walking cat tour?
A: A group stroll to spot cats in windows of homes that have signed up to show off their kitties.
Q: How many cats will we see?
A: Around 10–20. A map, photos, and bios of all the cats will be on our website.
Q: How long is the walk?
A: About 3 miles.
Q: Where does it start and end?
A: It’s a loop starting and ending at Wired Whisker, 1823 E Superior St, Duluth.
Q: Where can we park?
A: Street parking on E Superior St and unpaved lots up 19th Ave.
Q: Where will we walk?
A: Along city sidewalks.
Q: Can I bring my cat?
A: We recommend leaving cats at home, as the walk may be overstimulating. If you bring one, they can’t enter the cafe but are welcome on the patio. Please use a stroller, backpack, or safe carrier in case they need a retreat.
Meet the Cats!
Ivy
Stop #1 | 1924 E Superior St.
Ivy is 4 years old and was rescued by Camp Companion near Rochester, Minnesota. She is a weird cat, but she is the sweetest thing you’d ever see. Ivy loves playing fetch, shaking her tail, and making biscuits with all four paws.
Zucchini
Stop #2 | 2016 Jefferson St.
Zucchini (orange cat) is a 5 year old rescue from Douglas County’s Humane Society. He was picked up at ~4 months running around Superior in a kitten gang. He is batshit crazy and enjoys knocking things over, getting into stuff he shouldn’t, and causing general mayhem. He loves cackling at birds out the window. He has caught 0.5 mice in his lifetime. He is a giant mamas boy who loves cuddling and can always be found in someone’s lap.
Tink
Stop #2 | 2016 Jefferson St.
Tink (mostly white calico) is a 9 year old rescue from Ruff Start Rescue. She entered the rescue pregnant and is a mama to two kittens. She is the queen of the house who rules this roost. Anyone who enters must pay her their respects. She is a Professor of Meowology and was recently tenured (her persona). Her fur is really soft. She loves sitting in open windows, trying to get outside, and getting people to give her pets and scratches. Dislikes include: Zucchini.
Marcus
Stop #3 | 101 S 18th Ave E
Marcus is five years old! He enjoys sleeping on fresh laundry, chin scratches and watching squirrels from the window.
Philbin
Stop #3 | 101 S 18th Ave E
Philbin is two years old! He enjoys sitting in boxes, baskets and bags, being carried like a baby and stealing barbie accessories from his human sister.
Dottie
Stop #4 | 1530 Jefferson St.
Dottie is 3 years old, and a petite princess! Despite her size she loves a kitty Gogurt or two, has a short fuse to match her stature and has recently learned to ask for kisses from her favorite person in the world (her dad).
Mabel
Stop #4 | 1530 Jefferson St.
Mabel (or Maybelline when she’s naughty and hops on the counter) is 6 years old, and the resident sun bather of our clan. She enjoys cuddling with her mom, ice cream, and watching the birds from the window.
Yorke
Stop #4 | 1530 Jefferson St.
Yorke is almost 1 year old and (unfortunately) a temporary resident of our household. He's a professional bed bug, loves wrestling with his cousin Dottie, and ear scratches.
Storm
Stop #5 | 101 S 15th Ave E
Storm is a 10 year old, black smoke cat (her fur is black at the tips but clear closer to the skin) who was originally rescued from the streets of Baltimore, Maryland. She barely tolerates the humans but loves to snuggle and cuddle with our tabby cat, Finch. She moved to Duluth in 2023, and misses baking in the pizza oven that was a summer's day in DC, where she would get so hot lying in the sun that it would hurt to touch her fur. She makes do with the in-floor heat vents but probably wishes we would buy her a few heat lamps.
Finch
Stop #5 | 101 S 15th Ave E
We call Finch (8 years old) our tiny kitty, because at one point he was a little bitty kitten surrounded by full-grown cats. We fostered him and his 3 siblings and our kid refused to give him back to the shelter! He weighs in at about 18 lbs of tabby love, though, so maybe it's not the most accurate nickname anymore. Finch loves cuddling with Storm and playing with Sparkle. He would like you all to know that he never ever gets any treats ever and he's starving.
Sparrow
Stop #5 | 101 S 15th Ave E
Sparrow (11 years old) is our oldest kitty and is starting to struggle a little bit with arthritis. He can still jump up on the windowsills, though! He used to be an indoor-outdoor kitty who would roam all over the neighborhood for multiple days at a time, but since moving to Duluth in 2023 he's retired and loves nothing more than a good snuggle or a sunny windowsill.
Sparkle
Stop #5 | 101 S 15th Ave E
Sparkle (and his sister, Cinder, 2 years old), were foster-fails from Animal Allies our first summer in Duluth. Affectionately known as "Little Guy," he is a classic tuxedo both in looks and personality. He LOVES people, and is always curious and "helpful." He's currently an apprentice electrician (after helping the electrician re-wire our house last year, spending much of the time on the electrician's shoulders!), and also a member of the house-cleaning team (specializing in stealing feather dusters). He and Cinder also help break down any and all cardboard boxes by shredding them into tiny little pieces. He wishes you all could come inside and give him some love!
Cinder
Stop #5 | 101 S 15th Ave E
Cinder, like her brother Sparkle, is a foster-fail from Animal Allies. We should have realized we were in for a wild ride when she was a kitten, as she repeatedly splashed in her water bowl to the point where we could only give them a tiny bit of water at a time so she wouldn't flood the floor. Once she was released into the rest of the house, she proved that she is both a genius and an agent of chaos and destruction. The pet water fountain is carefully contained so when she splashes, the water doesn't go all over the floor. We can't leave bathtub drains uncovered or she shoves cat toys down them and clogs them. She can unlatch bins and untie bags to get at my knitting yarn. When she catches a toy mouse, she shrieks at the top of her tiny kitty lungs until we go tell her how brave she is and what a good huntress she is! She loves helping 2 of her people practice the trumpet - the louder the better! If something is destroyed, broken, or randomly missing in the house, it's almost definitely Cinder's fault. But she is also the softest, sweetest, fluffiest little kitty - so we can never stay mad!
Minka (the canine cat!)
Stop #5 | 101 S 15th Ave E
Although not technically a cat, Minka (~11 years old) has spent the last 8 years surrounded by kitties, and you'll definitely see her on the tour. She was rescued from the British Virgin Islands after Category 5 Hurricane Irma hit the island in 2017, resulting in catastrophic damage. About a month after the hurricane, the American Humane Society began rounding up as many animals as they could find to evacuate them to mainland shelters, and Minka eventually made her way to DC. She has always loved humans, especially tiny humans, but was so scared of other dogs, possibly because she was fighting with them for food after the hurricane. Minka loves nothing more than meeting new people, so if she's out in the fenced yard feel free to say hi. She may bark, but it's just because she wants to make friends so badly!
Stan
Stop #6 | 1317 E 2nd St.
Stan is about to turn 3 and thinks he is an independent boy! He secretly loves his brother, Larry and gets upset if Larry is not giving him enough attention :) He loves going outside on his leash, playing with hair ties, and napping in the sun. He will only drink water if it is out of a coffee cup that a human is also drinking out of...
Larry
Stop #6 | 1317 E 2nd St.
Larry was adopted from Wired Whisker this past fall! He is the sweetest baby boy and is obsessed with everyone in the house! He always needs to be next to one of us (or his big brother, Stan). He loves stealing food, playing with his dragon toy, doing puzzles for treats, and going outside on his leash!
Fun Fact: Larry was featured LIVE on Northern News Now to promote this event!
Chester
Stop #7 | 525 N 16th Ave E
Chester (white and orange) came from Animal Allies and is 7 years old. He has very little fear and he loves people. He rules the household--our dog is scared of him! He loves to jump up on counters and to play with flowers.
Jasper
Stop #7 | 525 N 16th Ave E
Jasper (gray tabby point) came from Animal Allies and is 4 years old. He acts like Chester's little brother and loves to cuddle with him. Soon after we got him he escaped and ended up crawling into a car's engine. The owners of the car found him when they got to their destination and thankfully saw his picture online and returned him!
Clara
Stop #7 | 525 N 16th Ave E
Clara came to us as a medical foster from Animal Allies because she had been attacked by an animal and her back leg was hurt. She is 10 years old and will come meow at you for attention if you ignore her.
Azula
Stop #8 | 1819 E 7th St.
Azula is a four year-old tortoise shell cat, rescued from Virginia, Minnesota. She’s named after Princess Azula from Avatar the Last Airbender, because she truly is the embodiment of that character.She enjoys staring at the vas domain of the front yard, and getting annoyed by Tippi’s kitten antics.
Idgie
Stop #8 | 1819 E 7th St.
Idgie is a three year-old buff cat, which apparently is the actual name of her fur pattern, and she truly lives up to the name. Her owners truly do think that she may be princess Diana reincarnated (Just look at that photo). Idgie taught herself how to play fetch when she was a kitten, so her favorite thing to do is find random things to then have her owners throw them (she’s trained us well). She was rescued from Superior animal shelter.
Tippi
Stop #8 | 1819 E 7th St.
Tippi is the 10 month old kitten that was rescued from a hoarding house by a close friend of the owners. She enjoys screaming for food, standing on your face while you sleep, and falling asleep anywhere and everywhere she can. She’s named Tippi, due to when she was a small kitten her head was about the size of her body and she would tip into her food and water dishes.
Yogurt
Stop #9 | 2105 E 3rd St.
At just 7 pounds,Yogurt is a tiny grey blur of energy, suspision, and emotional complexity. One minute, shes bringing you a toy to play fetch, and the next shes staring at the ceiling like she hears ghosts. Yogurt loves fiercly- on her terms. When shes ready for affection, youll know (you'll have approximately six seconds to comply) She's equal parts adorable and unhinged, with the vibe of a feral ballerina who occasionally remembers shes domesticated.
Blaze
Stop #9 | 2105 E 3rd St.
Blaze is less “cat” and more “floor cushion with a pulse.” This 23-pound tabby king lives for two things: food and snuggles. He is unbothered by your chaos. Want to dress him up? Go for it. Toddler using him as a pillow? Absolutely fine. He's just happy to be included. Blaze doesn’t care how you touch him—just that you do. He’s the emotional support cat you didn’t know you needed, and he accepts payment in the form of treats. Or crumbs. Or air that once touched a chip. The vet would like him to lose 3 pounds (we are making progress!), but she also agrees he was built for greatness. He’s not overweight—he’s structurally magnificent.
Just for Fun
Below we will be adding highlight photos from the event. Subscribe to stay tuned for news on future Walking Cat Tours!
