Sprinkles

Sprinkles was a white cat that belonged to Angela Martin. Sprinkles died on September 22, 2007.
Sprinkles suffered from many health conditions; she needed insulin, an ace inhibitor, pills, and cream underneath her tail in order to survive. In Fun Run, Angela could not give Sprinkles her medication because she went with a group of coworkers to visit Meredith in the hospital. (In the beginning of the episode, Michael hit Meredith with his car.) Angela asks Dwight the favor of giving Sprinkles her medicine during his lunch hour, admitting Dwight is the only person she trusts to do the job. However, after Angela returns from the hospital visit, Dwight informs her, "you left the TV on, and your cat is dead".

Michael, upon seeing his staff upset, tells them to get over Meredith's injury. When Pam tells Michael that Angela is crying because her cat died, Michael asks "Sprinkles?" with great concern. This moment shows Michael's compassion for his workers; by knowing the name of the deceased cat, Michael expresses his (often absent) attention to detail.

Angela and Sprinkles at Halloween. "Just a couple of kittens out on the town."

 

Angela is distraught to hear that her cat has died, after helping Sprinkles through countless years and ailments. Dwight tells Angela he left Sprinkles' body in the freezer, so Angela returns home to investigate. She becomes suspicious when she finds a bag of frozen French fries clawed to shreds, leading her to believe Sprinkles wasn't dead when Dwight placed her in the freezer. Angela confides in Pam her fears that Dwight killed her cat.

During Michael Scott's Fun Run, Dwight admits that, as a farmer, he "took care of the cat the best way he knew how" and "did what city folk don't have the stomach to do". Angela is horrified that Dwight mercy killed her most beloved cat, telling him "cat heaven is a beautiful place, but you don't get there if you're euthanized". Dwight consoles her by offering to have Sprinkles stuffed or buried. But when Dwight puts his hand on Angela's shoulder, she tells him to not touch her and jogs off, crying. This causes Dwight's and Angela's relationship to fall apart, and Angela to later get together with Andy Bernard.

Trivia

• Angela Kinsey came up with the idea for Sprinkles while filming Pilot. When asked by Ken Kwapis to pass out papers to the rest of the cast in the background, she drew a cat as an invitation to "Sprinkles's birthday party."