Player Pets: Wild defenseman Greg Pateryn has a cat named Ozzy

Each month, Wild.com will feature a Minnesota Wild player and his pet(s). This series also appears in Wild Magazine.
Pets make for some of the greatest companions and locker room stories. Wild defenseman Greg Pateryn's 2-year-old black cat, Ozzy, named after famous metal vocalist Ozzy Osbourne, has some pretty interesting quirks. Following any long day at the rink, Ozzy is never in short supply of hijinks that keeps Pateryn and his wife on their toes and laughing.

Wild.com's Tricia Luna: Does Ozzy do any interesting tricks?
Pateryn: He flops over on his back and lays spread=-eagle. He's got a big gray under belly, so it's just black and then gray and he has big yellow eyes. It's hilarious; he does it every day, too.
TL: What is your favorite thing to do with Ozzy?
GP: Probably take him through the airport with a leash. That always gets people looking at us. We travel with him but he stays in his carrier most of the time but he pops his head out and we always get the funniest looks at the airport.

TL: Is there any type of food he goes crazy for?
GP: Chicken, not fish. He's obsessed with chicken. As soon as chicken comes out he's all over it. Anything cooked, raw, he smells it.
TL: Do you have a story you can share with us?
GP: He loves going outside, and when we went to Mexico last year, he got outside for three whole days, and he just stayed underneath bushes. I think he was mad at us for leaving but he just went outside and stood there for three days and made us come home early.
Related:
- Jared Spurgeon and his dog Noah](https://www.nhl.com/wild/news/player-pets-101818/c-301062272)