“You Can’t Replace Pepper”

Doctor Ferdinand died
Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhh
Doctor Ferdinand died
it doesn’t hurt anymore
Where so many advertisements are made
love in the neighborhoods
Doctor Ferdinand died
poor animal

(Mani Matter: «Dr Ferdinand is dead»)

Why love just one when you can have more? There were so many loving hands for Kater Chili. Hearts flew to him when he strolled around like a king at Brocki in Wetzikon ZH and chose a seat: on a sofa, in a basket, or in a warm embrace. “It was already waiting outside the door when I arrived at 8 a.m.,” says Nadine Kulle, 46, Brocki Wetzikon’s sales manager.

At first the red tomcat wandered outside and allowed herself to be petted, but at some point she was also allowed inside. “We scanned the chip and found its owner,” Kulle says. Fränzi Arnold (47) lives nearby with her two children and two other cats. Her cat had no objections to her outings: “If she felt comfortable and welcome there, that’s fine. She would always come home to eat in the evenings.”

Pepper belonged to the Brocki family

Chili’s travels are now over. It’s a warm June evening when the tom-cat crosses the railroad tracks between his house and Brocki, as he often does. This is the last time. “So many trains going, always mastered with complete composure, I don’t know what happened that evening,” says the owner. On Friday night, the police rang the bell, Chili got under the train. Arnold personally goes to Brocki on Saturday morning to deliver the sad news that comes as a shock to everyone. “It was really bad, most of them came out crying. For a moment I thought we should close up,” Kulle recalls. “Chili was like a family member to us.”

“Oh, ah, ah, ah… poor beast,” Mani Matter would probably sing now. As for the late tomcat Ferdinand: “… It hurts me more, so much love is demanded in the neighborhoods.” Chili was loved by everyone. “There were never any complaints,” Kulle assures. “It brought people together,” says Brockis’ sales manager. “No matter what age or background, sometimes the four of them would stand around him and be happy for the trusting cat.”

A completely unique character.

The places where Brocki-Büsi likes to make herself comfortable are left empty, maybe you can find a red hair here and there. One person who particularly misses Chili is a former Brocki employee. “Roli has been coming to the store every day for the past two years since retiring to give Chili a feast,” Kulle says. “The cat leaves a space, you can’t change it. It was a character in itself.”

There were never any complaints about the pepper. It was brushed regularly by the staff to avoid too much hair shedding. When the pandemic hit, many worried about a hangover. Where would he get his extra hugs now? And more importantly, would it reappear later? “When we reopened after Corona, everyone asked about the pain first,” Kulle says. The cat came and walked into his kingdom like a king, as if he had never left.

Many still can’t believe it’s gone forever. A monument to Chili was deliberately not installed in Brocki. Kulle: “There were enough tears already, I thought it would be better if we let him rest and remember him like that.”