Four Orange Kittens Show Up At A Distillery And Decide They Work There Now

“Love seeing a female-run business.”

From Hay Bales to Headliners: Meet the Four Orange Sisters of Jeptha Creed Distillery

It was an ordinary spring day in 2017 at Jeptha Creed Distillery in Kentucky — until a bale of hay changed everything.

While spreading straw around the property, the staff at the family-run distillery got an unexpected surprise: four tiny kittens tumbled out of one of the bales, meowing and clearly in distress. No mother cat was in sight.

“They were tiny,” said Autumn Nethery, co-owner and VP of operations. “They were clearly starving.”

For the Jeptha Creed team, the decision was instant. They’d been toying with the idea of adopting a cat — why not four? The kittens were gently scooped up, bottle-fed around the clock, and lovingly named after the distillery’s grains: Malt, Wheat, Barley, and Rye.

Fast forward eight years, and these once-frail babies are now thriving adult cats, beloved by staff and visitors alike. With their striking orange coats — a rare trait for female cats — the sisters are not just adorable; they’re genetic rarities. (Only about 1 in 5 orange cats are female.)

By day, they lounge in their custom-built catio, occasionally waking up just in time to greet tour groups and soak up the attention.

“They love to be pet. They love the attention,” said Nethery. “They’ll put on a show.”

But when the lights go down, they clock in. These four aren’t just mascots — they’re rodent-control experts, patrolling the property like tiny, fluffy security guards.

And while Jeptha Creed Distillery is proudly women-owned, their feline crew keeps the theme strong. As one TikTok commenter aptly put it:

“Love seeing a female-run business.”

Eight years later, Malt, Wheat, Barley, and Rye have become much more than working cats. They’re a part of the family — symbols of luck, resilience, and a little bit of Kentucky magic.