SUSAN LOESCH
CATS IN THE STACKS

On Fridays, I have my fifth- and sixth-graders together.

This morning we had a very serious discussion. I asked a couple of questions and then listened as they talked. Feline Rescue and Rehome has taken a wonderful 6-month-old kitten from a Missouri rescue group where she was facing euthanasia.

Sabrina, aka SnuggleBunny, is a sealpoint Siamese, chubby and playful, never meeting a stranger. Alex is in the market for an assistant library cat or two. Big Footsie always had several assistants, which allowed him to have some vacation time.

SnuggleBunny sounds like she was made for the job – except for one thing. She is positive for the feline leukemia virus. My students are familiar with that. Several of Big Footsie’s assistants over the years were positive, including Daisy, Valley and Bill Murray. For a kitten born feline leukemia positive, the lifespan will be short, often only 1-3 years.

How would my students feel about that, after losing Big Footsie so recently? We settled down on the beanbags and they told me how they felt.

“Since she was going to die if she stayed in Missouri I think she should stay here and be happy with us,” said Makayla.

Markissha’s feeling was that “I don’t like to see lots of cats die, but I think we should give her a happy life.”

Mary, my secondary work-study student, suggested that we “just love her to death while we have her.”

Each student got a chance to express an opinion.

Several thought that it would be better to bring her only when the older students are here. I agree with that.

Many of my secondary students met SnuggleBunny in the hall before school this morning. She was comfortable with the crowd and even the bells that rang. To a person, their reaction was positive. “Keep bringing her,” more than one told me, as did the teachers who were also crowded around.

I will give everyone time to think about this and to let me know if they change their mind or if they think having SnuggleBunny around will make them too sad.

One of my 5th graders expressed what seems to be the majority opinion. “You should keep bringing her, and we can make her happy and give her as good a life as Big Footsie and Alex.”

Alex just may have his first assistant!

SUSAN LOESCH

CATS IN THE STACKS

Once again Alex had to come back to school to REST!  He spent another weekend being sociable and cute and representing the Arkansas School for the Blind and FuRR (Feline Rescue and Rehome).

Little Rock Animal Village celebrated the 2^nd anniversary of their new facility and had a ribbon-cutting for the opening of their education room and clinic. Several rescue groups set up displays outside, including FuRR, and Alex and I went inside for the ceremony.

The head of the Animal Services Board gave Alex a shout-out when she thanked “Alex, the Library Cat at the School for the Blind” for attending! Alex took it all in stride…even wearing his costume all day and coming face-to-face with dogs.

There was a “showdown” at high noon – a costume contest for animals! Alex got cheers from the crowd as he appeared, and he won third place.  He lost to “Two Peas in a Pod” and a zebra, all of which were D-O-G-S. We quickly reminded him that he was the very best cat there. (We didn’t mention that he was the ONLY cat there.)

After the contest he visited with more dogs and more people and was filmed by one of the local TV channels and appeared on the news. He got kisses from a little brother and sister who, you could tell, have a kitty at home and know what they like.

Back at school, on the job, he is enjoying a few days with no costume and even no bandana.  He is basking in the admiration of his fans, our student body, and he is getting many comments about his picture appearing in the newspaper on Halloween.

The two students in the picture with him were excited.  Brianna told me that, “It was awesome,” and Dominique thought, “It was SO cool!”  They both have laminated copies of the picture, which they say they will keep forever.

SUSAN LOESCH

CATS IN THE STACKS

It would take more than a rainstorm to dampen the Halloween spirit in the Arkansas School for the Blind Library today!  Finally Alex revealed his costume choice for all to see…he is a…DEVIL!  Complete with sparkly red horns.

And what does everyone think? Bailey, dressed as a bunny, was the first to see him today when she came to the library to get a book. Her reaction was, “Awesome!”

At 10 a.m. the elementary kids all came trick-or-treating. Alex sat in his kitty bed on the front desk and helped hand out treats. He posed with Mary, my work-study student, who was dressed as a cat.

We found that when his hat was pushed back behind his ears he was a much happier little devil than when his ears had to stick through the holes in the hat.

One of our very youngest students came ahead of the crowd. He had never met Alex and his mobility teacher brought him for a visit. Calm Alex let him explore whiskers and nose and tail and was a good teacher even in costume.

Big Footsie was good that way, too, and he was patient even when someone wanted to feel his tongue. We are thinking about him today. Footsie always wore bat wings and he walked the halls every Halloween on his leash being…well, batty! One of my favorite pictures is Footsie and Makayla on Halloween having an important discussion. They never did tell me what it was about.

One of my fifth graders, commenting on Alex’s costume, said, “It is wicked cool. But it would have looked good on Big Footsie, too!” I think she is right..

After the elementary kids were gone, Mary took Alex’s costume off and offered him some of his favorite treats.  After all, a hard-working Library Cat should have Halloween treats, too!

The afternoon brought the secondary trick-or-treaters, including Michael Jackson. By the time they all left, Alex was ready for more treats from his friend, Trinity, and a good nap. I think he is glad it will be a whole year before Halloween comes again!

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

This is a big week here in the Arkansas School for the Blind Library: Friday will be Remembering Big Footsie Day.

Students are finishing their pages for Footsie’s memory book. My first-graders added a star to their pictures of him because he had a star-shaped tag. One student drew a green box – that is Footsie’s home after he was cremated.

I have become somewhat of an expert explaining cremation and explaining why it isn’t so that if he’d been buried instead of cremated he would be coming back to life!

Even as we anticipate Footsie’s day and look back and remember, we also are moving ahead.

“Is Alex here?” One of my students put her bracelet on Alex’s tail and he just purred on.

Maybe he is really getting the hang of this Head Library Cat job!  Maybe we all are getting the hang of having him on the job.

SUSAN LOESCH
CATS IN THE STACKS

As our students began to drift in, Alex and I were in the main hall walking around – or at least I was walking. Alex was enjoying an over-the-shoulder chauffering event.

From down the hall, I heard, “Ms. Loesch, is it true that Big Footsie died?” Gulp. I knew this was coming. “Yes, Makayla, it is true.”

Makayla’s sister piped up, “Makayla was crying.”

“Sure she was,” I said. “I did, too. In fact I cried for two days straight. It’s ok to cry.”

“Did you have a funeral for him?” she continued. “I think we should make a big poster and have Big Footsie’s picture on it and put it up in the hall so everyone remembers him.” I told her that we will decide together how to honor Big Footsie and we can certainly do posters.

I went on to tell her that Alex was going to be our Acting Head Library Cat for now. The first picture I have of Makayla and Alex together is when Alex was a bottle baby and Makayla was a preschooler.  She wanted  to take a picture of her and Alex so we went to the library to get my camera.

Alex squirmed a bit in her arms as we took pictures and then settled down.

Makayla lay her head on him and said, “You know, I don’t think Alex loves me like Big Footsie did.”

“He will”, I told her. “And you will love Alex just like you love Big Footsie.”

BY SUSAN LOESCH

CATS IN THE STACKS

Here we are again – Registration Day at Arkansas School for the Blind.  For the 35^th time I am going to be greeting students…and for the first time in many years I do not have our wonderful Library Cat, Big Footsie, here with me on Registration Day. We lost our big fella over the summer to heart disease and renal failure. I am not alone here today; with me is Alex, Big Footsie’s  main Assistant Library Cat, but everything feels different.

Big Footsie has been coming to school for 8 years, so we have students entering the 9^th grade who don’t remember a time without him.  He has been their friend, confidant and cheerleader, loving them unconditionally and letting them know it! They have adored him in return.

Many will be hearing for the first time that he has died. We will have some sadness and some tears, and lots of hugs and lots of talking about our Foots. We will create a memory book for him and perhaps have a memorial service, and then I think we will be able to get down to the business of celebrating his life. And what a life! To be rescued from Death Row at a kill shelter and live as the cherished – and yes, spoiled – friend of a whole school is pretty darn good.

We will also head off on a great adventure this year…the picking of a successor to Footsie as Head Library Cat. Not a replacement, because no cat could possibly replace him!

With the title of Head Library Cat come duties and responsibilities…being photographed when school pictures are taken and appearing in the faculty section of the yearbook,  riding in the Library Cat float for our homecoming parade and being the Accelerated Reader Program “Reading Motivator” for our elementary students. Heavy stuff, so it takes a special cat!

Footsie’s assistant, Alex, will be our Acting Library Cat for now. He first came to school almost six years ago as a 3-week old bottle baby. He was named by one of our students, after herself, Alexandra. He grew up working side-by-side with Big Footsie, his mentor. Being a bottle baby, though, he is quite the mama’s boy. He is content to sit in my lap all day or on my desk and has not been one to run to the front desk to greet visitors the way Footsie did. Given the chance to come every day, though, he might decide to do that!

Alex may decide that he wants the “Head” job, and if he does, it is his. If not, we will “interview” kitties who are in the FuRR (Feline Rescue and Rehome) foster program until we come up with just the right match!

Alex has already decided that Registration Day has quite a lot of appeal…the cafeteria staff always invites the faculty to have lunch. It is always yummy and it ALWAYS has something to appeal to library cats!   Alex thoroughly enjoyed the turkey and is now snoozing on my desk.  He woke up to greet a new faculty member and an old friend, our speech teacher, who brought a wonderful book to us to put in the library in memory of Footsie. Soon it will be time to welcome the students.

I think Alex and I are ready to face the school year and the kids and to head off on this great adventure. Join us and come along!