Skip to main content
It’s not clear what drew Nutmeg to the Sellwood CVS. He’s a 14-year-old cat who, for most of his life, has preferred to spend as much time outside as possible. But in October or November of last year, the long-haired ginger started hanging out in the store’s parking lot. Then he figured out how the store’s automatic doors worked and wandered in.
One clue: CVS does carry some pet supplies, and John Burgon, an Executive Security guard, tells WW that Nutmeg once tore into a bag of cat treats and helped himself. He also once broke into the store’s pharmacy, though it’s unclear whether he was attempting a Drugstore Cowboy-style heist or simply exploring a potential career as a pharmacy technician, as his owner, Joe Moore, suggests.
Moore and his wife, Gabi, adopted Nutmeg a year ago after a friend had to rehome him. The cat was born under a trailer in Boone County, West Virginia, and has spent the bulk of his life in Centralia, Wash., as a mostly outdoor cat. The Moores set him up with a heated dog house in the backyard, put a collar and tag on him (along with an AirTag), and let him continue his wandering ways, though they do bring him in at night.
Store manager Mike Rogers says Nutmeg usually comes in early in the evening and hangs out until the store closes at 10. At that point, Joe Moore comes in—the store is about half a block from the Moores’ house—and carries him home.
During a recent visit to the store, a WW reporter found Nutmeg sleeping on the keyboard of a Kodak photo printing kiosk near the checkout. He declined to comment for this story (or even to wake up for an interview), but everybody who knows Nutmeg loves talking about him. He’s got fans on Reddit and on the Sellwood-Moreland Facebook group, some of whom have dubbed him the Mayor of Sellwood. (It should be said that title is contested, with some Sellwood neighbors pledging their allegiance to Batman, another orange cat who’s known to turn up at Jake’s Place and other local haunts. “I’m not trying to take Batman’s crown,” Moore says. “We can say Nutmeg is the duke of this area.”)
Either way, customers love him, the Moores love knowing he’s somewhere safe, and staff is delighted to have Nutmeg around, providing him with a fleece blanket and on-the-job snacks. Sometimes, Rogers says, he perches on the counter and quietly demands petting from customers.
“He’s basically become our Norm from Cheers.”
