Kids and library cats

Bobtail tabby gave Library Cat Program its start

August 29, 2010 By: kwilliams Category: Cats and reading, Cats in the Stacks, Celebrations, Kids and library cats, assistant library cat, remembering big footsie

SUSAN LOESCH

As our fall semester gets underway I thought it might be fun to tell you how our Library Cat Program got its start. To do that you have to meet Piper, a bobtail orange tabby who has just had his 10th birthday.

Piper came into my life in September, 2000, when he was just 5 weeks old. He had been
found in a drainpipe at a big grocery store; someone heard him crying. He was rescued by Care for Animals, and they asked me to foster him.

Oh, my goodness, did I fall in love with him! The first thing this little ball of fluff did was cuddle up under my chin and nurse on my neck. To this day he still does that, especially when he is nervous. (more…)

Old friends greet Shadow on eve of new school year

August 22, 2010 By: kwilliams Category: Cats and reading, Cats in the Stacks, Kids and library cats

SUSAN LOESCH

Here we are back at school; it’s Registration Day, when the kids come back. I remember this day last year, Alex with me, bad news about Footsie to deliver to the kids. I wondered if we would make it through the year.

Make it we did, even with Alex’s sudden death, and now a new year begins.

Shadow, Barney, Hexie and Tank will share Library Cat duties, with Shadow and Barney as co-Head
Library Cats. (more…)

Library cats have noses for newsroom

July 19, 2010 By: kwilliams Category: Field trips, Head library Cat search, Kids and library cats, Library cat vacation

SUSAN LOESCH

Imagine what the very best field trip would be like! Whatever you came up with couldn’t possibly be any more fun than what Barney and Shadow did Saturday.

The guys got all spiffied up in their bandanas and headed downtown to The Arkansas Democrat-Gazette, where Ms. Krisha of Rescue in the Rock had invited us to visit the newsroom.

We were scheduled to go to a budget meeting and meet lots of the newspaper staff. (more…)