We Talked to the Current Owner of Sonja Morgan’s Former Cat
He’s an actor, not a model (as mentioned on Watch What Happens Live With Andy Cohen) ... but he still loves his adopted son.
Last week, we learned that Sonja Morgan gave away her cat, whom she compared to Tinsley Mortimer. This week, we can reveal that the cat is alive and well, and living in Hell's Kitchen with an actor (not a model) named AJ Hunsucker.
Hunsucker first learned that Sonja was giving away her cat— then named Kitty, now named Mercer — through a guy he met on Tinder. The guy turned out to be Jasen Kaplan, who is Sonja’s make-up artist and close friend. In the midst of getting to know each other, Hunsucker mentioned to Kaplan that he was looking to adopt a cat.
“Jasen said, ‘Oh, well, Sonja Morgan is one of my best friends, and she is looking to get rid of her cat,’” Hunsucker told Unleashed.
Soon after, Kaplan took Hunsucker over to Sonja’s townhouse. First, they met, and then Sonja took Hunsucker on a tour of the house so that she could pick up Kitty’s toys and accessories, all of which she donated to his new home. She apparently also offered Hunsucker clothes and shoes from her basement after he mentioned that he has a sister who also lives in New York.
Mercer (nee Kitty), who has almost never appeared on The Real Housewives of New York City, was apparently nine years old. Sonja found him in a parking garage when he was a kitten, and then took him home.
“Sonja told me that the cat was actually her daughter’s,” Hunsucker told Unleashed. “She said that her daughter couldn’t take care of him because she was in boarding school, so she wanted to get rid of him.” At the time, Sonja was dating Edgar Vaudeville (better known as “Frenchie”), and was frequently traveling.
Mercer took a few days to adjust to his new home, but now, Hunsucker said, “owns the apartment.” He is affectionate — but not too affectionate, Hunsucker noted.
Hunsucker knows Mercer misses his mom because even though Sonja said the cat slept with her every night, he never sleeps with Hunsucker. Also, Hunsucker witnessed Sonja pick up the cat multiple times — something Mercer never allows anybody to do in his new environment.
Much like Tinsley, Mercer did go on to have a modeling career — for a luxury British cat brand called Chesire & Wain. Mercer models collars for them.
He responds to his new name, Mercer — but to this day, Hunsucker notes, he still comes faster if you call him Kitty.
For more pictures of the beautiful boy, see below.
