‘Mitsi’ from Petah Tikva stop gains worldwide fame and millions of fans
By AMY SPIROVIRAL SENSATION Mitsi the Cat sits in a train station in Petah Tikva. (Dan Kashani)(photo credit: DAN KASHANI)
Her name is Mitsi. And she’s something of a celebrity at the train station in Petah Tikva. And now, she’s getting worldwide attention.A video of Mitsi hanging out on the ticket entry machines at the station was posted on Facebook a few weeks ago by Dan Kashani, an Israeli advertising executive who lives in the city. The two-minute clip shows the cat sitting casually atop the machine as dozens of commuters pass through. Kashani jokingly subtitled the clip: “This is a cat and therefore I expect this video to go viral.”Little did he know how prophetic his words would be. By Tuesday, the video of Mitsi had been viewed more than six million times, and been written up in dozens of international news outlets.According to reports, Mitsi has been living in and around the train station for at least two years.And the cat’s newfound fame gained her a new, powerful fan: Petah Tikva Mayor Rami Greenberg. Earlier this month, Greenberg paid a visit to the famous kitty, to give her an appreciative pet on the head and even bring her a toy to thank her for putting Petah Tikva on the map.“I came to the train station to sympathize with the charming cat who made the city famous all over the world,” Greenberg told Mako. “We brought her food, snacks and toys. We invest a lot in the city when it comes to animals, and soon we will establish play gardens for cats and hold adoption days.”
