Cat Living In Home Depot For 13 Years Will Be Allowed To Stay

<p><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/t_abdelmoumen/">Tab59</a></p>
<p><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/t_abdelmoumen/">Tab59</a></p>

Earlier this week, a Home Depot in South Carolina made national news after revealing plans to evict a kindly stray cat which had been living in the store for the last 13 years. But after the decision sparked outrage and calls for boycott among animal-lovers, the home-improvement chain has had a change of heart.

The cat can stay.

Although the friendly feline, named Depot, has been a well-liked fixture for more than a decade, greeting guests as they shopped, management at the Bluffton store said the cat had begun triggering security alarms at night -- so it had to go.

As word got out that Depot was being evicted, customer Daniel Goodell led a charge to convince the store to allow her to stay. He launched a petition on change.org, receiving more than 1,500 signatures.

"The cat did nothing to management, and if the cat is put into a shelter she'll be destroyed due to her age," wrote Goodall.

Home Depot apparently heard the public's response. On Wednesday, a spokesperson for the retailer announced that the black cat would be allowed to continue living at the store, adding that they would still like to see a "healthier, safer environment for the cat" as she ages.

Goodall says that offers to adopt Depot have poured in from as far away as Germany, but until the time comes that the cat needs extra care, she'll get to remain in her long-time home.