Sometimes You Just Need a Kitten – Peter Harte

Every day in the Soulpepper/Young Centre offices Marketing and New Media Coordinator Peter Harte sends out a picture of a (usually) adorable cat. The Daily Kitten has now become a welcome sight in office inboxes across the building (and elsewhere). In his own words, Peter explains how he came up with the idea.

My Daily Kitten e-mails have been around for probably 2 years now. It’s hilarious because I keep an archive of past daily kittens so I don’t send the same one twice. Now I have this folder of kittens on my desktop that I get to look through at various times throughout the day to keep me in a good mood. The idea of sending a daily kitten came to me from overhearing some colleagues of mine commenting on “the daily puppy” that they receive in their inbox. “Daily Puppy?” I thought. “No, there needs to be a daily kitten.” Of course there already is a Daily Kitten website but it’s not worth checking out because they simply post basic cute kittens that are most likely automatically triggered from an e-mail client and sent to their database. I know how this all works far too well. My Daily Kitten comes from a database of carefully curated kittens that more often than not have the flattest faces or longest mustaches you’ve ever seen. I wouldn’t have it any other way…

What kind of cat do I own you ask? Well, unfortunately I’m allergic and so I shouldn’t own one, but that doesn’t stop me from rubbing face and sharing secrets with every cat I meet. Plus, considering how crazy I sound now, owning a cat would probably turn me into a cat myself and I should probably keep my relationship with them at a paws distance.

I currently have 68 members on my list and to my credit all these people have all personally requested to receive my daily e-mail. Oftentimes members will forward the daily kitten to their friends so my reach could easily be close to 100 and I don’t even know it. In fact, one of my coworkers is friends with the creator of kitten meme, Chairman Meow, and she heard word about my daily kitten and sent me an official Chairman Meow tee in the mail!

I don’t know how I could ever let my daily kitten go. If 4:30 PM rolls around and there’s no kitten sent I seriously start getting e-mails from my die-hard members. That’s how I know I’m making a difference in people’s lives. One kitten one day at a time.