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.

He began coming to school with me and seemed to enjoy it.

We began to connect our Library Cat Program with the new Accelerated Reader program. Our first “prize books” were called Piper‟s Picks.

Everyone loved to feed Piper chicken, his favorite food, especially baby food chicken.

He enjoyed his first Halloween with the students and at Christmas had his picture taken with Santa for the first time.

He had his favorite kids, most of whom have now graduated from high school. One of
his favorites was Harry, who earned the very first AR reading poster. He posed with
Piper for a sign that said, “Piper and Harry say, ‘Reading is Happy!’ ”

He also accompanied Jasmine to the Art Room where they posed as living models for a drawing class.

In the late spring of 2001, Big Footsie came into our lives, and it was obvious that he had all the traits of a great library cat. In the fall of 2001, both Footsie and Piper came to school, and Piper showed Footsie the ropes. He got the hang of eating treats — and plants
— really fast.

Piper and Footsie led our elementary kids to a fun “Rally Round the Sign” when our
school sign said “Home of Piper and Big Footsie, Only Library Cats In Arkansas.” We all
hiked down to the sign and took lots of pictures.

Not long into the year we had a huge first birthday party for Piper in the library. He had such a good time, but already Footsie was showing signs of taking over. … He opened a
huge bag of cat food which had been a gift to Piper and began to eat it!

As time went by, Piper let us know that he was more of a homebody than a working cat.

The job he really wanted was greeting me when I got home from school and washing my face as he purred a welcome.

Footsie, on the other hand, was more career-oriented, so he moved into the Head Library Cat position, and Piper became our Head Library Cat Emeritus.

Our kids still know Piper and ask for him to visit, so he comes a few times a year. He is always there for our Library Cat Christmas, a whole school party which all the library cat
staff attends.

Piper usually spends that day curled up in my office bathroom sink! He receives visitors there, and everyone knows where to go to see him.

At the end of the party day, most of the library cats are tired and sleepy, but not Piper. He has rested all day and is ready to play when he gets home!

Now Piper spends his days snoozing, hanging out with his buddies and greeting me every
afternoon with heartwarming enthusiasm. He continues to be my “soul-mate kitty.”

Piper wasn’t our Head Library Cat for very long, but he laid the foundation for the whole program. And what a great job he did!

SUSAN LOESCH

As the summer turns to July it is time for another field trip, and our intrepid adventurer of the week is Shadow.

We waited until evening to head to PetSmart. Objective: food and a new collar. Everyone loved Shadow’s manly zebra print collar, but it kept coming off until he finally lost it to some feline hidey-hole beyond my reach.

This was Shadow’s first time to venture out into the real world rather than his familiar library. As we entered the store, we heard dogs barking, and he looked at me like he wondered if I’d lost my mind bringing him to such a place. As he wiggled around, I was wondering the same thing!
It took a little while, but he settled down. We were looking at the guinea pigs when we met a pretty little girl named Brennan.

“Would you like to pet Shadow?” I asked her, looking at her parents to get their approval. I told them about Shadow’s library job and Brennan’s dad took pictures while I held Mr. Wiggly for her to pet.

Her mom asked if she thought Shadow would like her dog, Max.

“No,” she told us. “He would slap Max.”

Brennan also has a kitty named Quigley; it sounds like Quigley might have taken a paw to Max at least once.

As I put Shadow back in the basket, I said, “Bye, Brennan. It was nice to meet you.”

She replied, “It was nice to meet the cat.”

Even at such a young age she has her priorities straight!

Heading to the collar aisle, Shadow was still trying to decide whether to hide in his carrier or make a break for it. We looked at lots of collars and decided on the first we tried on – a silver sparkly one that looked quite handsome against his black fur.

I tried not to, but I couldn’t help comparing today’s trip to past PetSmart outings with Alex and Big Footsie; Alex sitting still for what seemed like hours as we tried on Halloween costume after costume, and Footsie happily romping from one cat tree to another as he tried them all out.

Shadow did finally seem more comfortable as we headed to the Fancy Feast aisle. Trial and error – lots of error – has turned up his favorite food: Fancy Feast Elegant Medleys, particularly anything Florentine.

We stocked up on Wild Salmon Florentine in a Delicate Sauce With Garden Greens. We added a feather toy to our basket and then looked at new carriers.

Shadow sat in one that I liked but that was just a little too small and a whole lot too hot pink. We both know that our kids at the School For the Blind Library would have a lot to say about a pink carrier for the library cat guys, none of it positive.

On we moved to the cat furniture, and at last Shadow found things that caught his interest. He tried out a Climb and Scratch cat tree, but the Nesting Circle turned out to be his favorite. Maybe that is because it made such a good hiding place. We are going to tell Santa about that one.

Our last stop was the … shhhhhh … doggie fashion department. We were looking for a Fourth of July bandana but found, instead, great Harley gear.

The fleece hoodie with the Harley logo was a bust but a t-shirt with “Harley-Davidson” on the back, decorated with all kinds of sparklies, was a perfect fit.

We might just have to have that when school starts.

Shadow gamely tried on a fleece sun visor but it just wasn’t him.

We both passed on the Martha Stewart terrycloth robes, and I hunted and hunted for the right size in a great t-shirt, which said “Girl Bait”.

Did I just imagine it or did I see Shadow breathe a sigh of relief?

Somehow I don’t think he was feeling a bit of the disappointment I was when all we could find was huge-dog size.

That’s OK; there is always our next shopping trip.

SUSAN LOESCH

Thursday was Tank’s last work day for the year and my 6^th graders’ last day in elementary.  What a day!

The day before, Shadow and I had gone to their classroom for a graduation picture. Many of these kids were Big Footsie’s and mine from the time they were kindergarteners.

They are all so excited and look so grown up; I smile at memories of them in their early years at the School for the Blind and it looks very natural to see a black cat in Makayla’s arms.

I always love seeing the kids dressed up and lined up waiting to walk down the aisle in their caps and gowns.

“Oh, I’m going to pass out,” said Makayla.

“No, you aren’t,” I told her. “You don’t want me to have to go back and tell Tank that you keeled over on the stage, do you?”

A laugh, calmed nerves, and graduation begins.

Tank was kept busy earlier in the day with lots of visitors. He got all the petting and treats any library cat could hope for.

The speech students have come to the library during the year as a reward for good work, always armed with treats for whoever is here.

Their teacher brought us all the treats which were left, so Tank had a real buffet!  Other teachers and students came by to say good-bye, and of course we had lots of picture-taking.

It seems like only a few weeks ago that I began this school year without Footsie, and with Alex with me.

It has been a hard year for us in some ways, but we made it.

SUSAN LOESCH
CATS IN THE STACKS

In the middle of a story hour my work-study student, Mary, came to tell me she couldn’t find Alex. I suggested she look on a table in my office — his favorite spot lately. Before long, our new first grader asked why Alex was on a table. I said that he just liked it there!

After the story, the whole class moved to a table in the Reading Room.  Most of the students had known Big Footsie but none had met Alex yet. Mary went in my office and brought him out for a visit.

“Oh,” said my new student. “Alex is a cat! I thought he was a boy!”

That explains why he wondered about Alex being on the table!

As the students began to pet Alex, one asked me, “Does he run on batteries?”

I was a little puzzled.

“I have lots of toys that run on batteries.”

“Well, no,” I said. “Alex doesn’t run on batteries.  He runs on love and cat food and petting!”

We all laughed, and Alex got lots of good petting.

SUSAN LOESCH

CATS IN THE STACKS

“Ms. Loesch, look at my tooth,” my 2^nd grader said as she came in the door.

“My mom told me not to wiggle it but I do it anyway. Can I show Alex?”  So we went into my office where Alex was in his bed and he dutifully gazed at her loose tooth and was rewarded with a hug.

Then it was story time;  we seem to have a little tradition started here for the 2^nd graders, a class of just two this year. Both girls and Alex fit comfortably on Big Footsie’s blue beanbag so they sit there, Alex between them, and I sit on Footsie’s green frog, with the bare spots on the head from his “making biscuits” over the years.

The day was dark and wet, but we were cozy and comfortable, and the girls really enjoyed the first chapters of Sarah, Plain and Tall. We think Alex enjoyed it too – one of the characters is a gray kitty named Seal!

I know he enjoyed it more than his Sunday afternoon jaunt to a micro-chipping clinic yesterday. Even though the vet was his own Dr. Cole, Alex’s expression said he was not a happy camper. But it only lasted a few seconds and now he is safely chipped, and that’s a good thing for a kitty who is out and about as much as he is!

CATS IN THE STACKS

Today was school picture day for everyone on campus, including Alex and even Leta, the pre-school dog.

Rain was pouring down and the photographer was way across campus from the Library.

Every step of the way I could feel my hair frizzing; luckily Alex didn’t seem to have that problem. He was decked out in his Harley-Davidson bandana and, for this occasion, his harness and leash, hidden under his bandana.

We stood in line with our registration cards. Alex’s said “Alex Cat. Teacher.” “Would you like to have the free teacher package, Alex?” the photographer asked. Of course he would! Alex posed perfectly on the same stool the kids sit on – with a little booster seat for height. And then he began to get interested in everything going on around him.

I was on the floor shaking his treats to get his attention and the photographer was waving his feather toy. Alex never moved out of position except that he looked straight…in the opposite direction! He was much more interested in the room and the kids coming in than the camera. The photographer finally got a pretty good shot, thank goodness, because the line behind us was beginning to grow and included our superintendent.

Good job, Alex! Note to myself:  next year take Alex over to explore the room the day before.  We are all anxiously awaiting Alex’s first school picture as our Arkansas School for the Blind Library Cat.