B.C. couple whose cats held their Vitamix hostage finally have a new blender

After six weeks, countless updates, viral social media posts and headlines worldwide, the saga of the B.C. cats and a Vitamix box has come to an end.

Sort of.

Jessica and Nikii Gerson-Neeves have successfully unboxed a new Vitamix blender while the original one does remain in its original box.

It all started when the Gerson-Neeves bought themselves a Vitamix during last year’s Black Friday sale and when Jessica put the box down upon delivery, one of their cats — Max, also known as the “sentient soccer ball” — jumped up immediately.

Fast forward to Jan. 29, 2022, and the couple were finally able to use their new Vitamix blender, even if it wasn’t the one they originally bought.

The couple were able to use a broom to keep their inquisitive cats away from the new box, while simultaneously opening it and pulling out the new blender.

Get daily National news

Get the day's top news, political, economic, and current affairs headlines, delivered to your inbox once a day.

Sign up for daily National newsletter Sign Up

By providing your email address, you have read and agree to Global News' Terms and Conditions and Privacy Policy.

They captured the dramatic moment in a series of photos for their thousands of followers around the world.

The Vancouver Island couple have three determined cats, all of whom would take turns to sit on top of the Vitamix box, even though no one really knew why.

Aside from Max, the standoff involved George, also known as “destroyer of worlds,” and Lando Calrissian, also called “sentient dust bunny.”

1:02 Ontario tabby cat missing for 11.5 years reunited with owner

When asked by Global News why they allowed this saga to continue for so long, Jessica said it was apparent people needed this joy in their lives.

“At this point, it’s fun,” she said on Jan. 12.

“Of course, we’re not actually being held hostage. Of course, we could pick the cats up, pull them off the Vitamix and open the box. But they’re having fun, we’re having fun, a whole bunch of people across the world are keeping track of this and loving it.”

She added that joy is in short supply for a lot of people and they didn’t want to force that to end.

“We’re having a good time, the cats are having a good time, people are having a good time and we all really need that right now.”

2:10 ‘Bright spot’: how a once neglected dog rescued by the BC SPCA changed Kelowna woman’s life

— with files from Kylie Stanton