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St. Pete spokescat overcomes cancer, hits the road

Fisher the cat
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ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. — It was back in 2020 when ABC Action News first introduced you to a St. Pete cat who loves the water so much that he was recruited to be a spokescat for various water sports companies.

You could say the Maine Coon made an immediate splash.

“We got a lot of new followers after we did your story. People were like, ‘Oh my gosh, that cat likes water. He goes on the boat with you. He goes tubing.' I’m like, 'Yeah, it’s pretty cool,'” said owner Finn Williams.

Fisher was living the best of his nine lives, serving as a spokescat for Powerpole and Airhead Water Sports, until there was an unexpected turn.

“We had just gotten back from a long trip, and I was petting him, and I felt a tiny bump, and I got him into the vet the next day,” said owner Lorraine Ripp.

Fisher the Cat

Fisher was diagnosed with cancer. The messages of support from thousands of fans poured in as the brave feline fought the disease twice.

“We are in remission and just trying to enjoy all of the time we have with him,” said Ripp.

Fisher isn’t only back modeling for more than 10 different companies, but he has a partner: his little brother, Sailor.

“Sailor fits just right in. He’s right behind Fisher and wants to do everything he does. They absolutely love each other,” said Williams.

Fisher and Sailor, along with Williams and Ripp, began traveling the country in an Ember RV that they specifically equipped for cats.

“We’re trying to normalize traveling with your pets and saying, ‘hey you can have a nice little area for you and your pet and bring them along,’” said Williams. “They’ve been to Utah, Moab, New Mexico, Yellow Stone National Park.”

Ember RV was alerted about how much fun Fisher and Sailor were having out on the open road and invited them to join the marketing team. They call the pet-friendly area the Catio.

“And the boys absolutely love it. We’re used to going on all these adventures, and now they are like, ‘You go ahead and go on the adventure; we are going to stay in the Catio for the day,’ and we think it’s hilarious,” said Williams.

This week, they’ll even be taking photos and shaking paws at Hershey America’s Largest RV Show in Pennsylvania. Williams and Ripp are excited to go along for the ride; after all, somebody has to drive.

“It’s just been absolutely amazing that we get to live this life,” said Williams. “We know we are very blessed and we are just very excited that we get to travel and be with our cats.”

Milton is now a Category 4 Hurricane.

Greg Dee weather hit 9:30am 10/7