SUSAN LOESCH

Are there weeks when you are so busy you’d like to clone yourself? That was Shadow and Barney’s
predicament last week. Sometimes working two jobs makes you feel like you are meeting yourself
coming and going … even if you are a cat!

Barn and Shadow have their job as library cats, but they also are kept busy as Feline Rescue and Rehome PR Ambassadors.

What a week they had! A Jeans Day benefit, FuRR’s three-day fundraiser sale and, for Shadow, his first prom!
They squeezed in visits to school, one each. Then on Thursday, Shadow worked long hours. He headed to USAble Insurance Co. where he supervised a group of us 2-legged animals as we met USAble employees who had chosen to make FuRR the recipient of their ‘Jeans for a Means’ day for April.

The weather was wonderful for a change, although the wind was pretty brisk. That didn’t bother Shads! He was all decked out in a white bandana with a red heart, modeling the ones we have for sale.

When people saw him on his leash we heard over and over, “My cat .would NEVER do that.”

I know that was a smile I saw on Shadow’s face; he knows he is quite unique with his harness and leash technique. He even let our visitors hold him.

Later in the day came his big event, though. My senior, Trinity, wanted to have a picture of Shadow with her in her prom dress.

That of course required prom clothes for Shadow. For his bandana I found a filmy blue material that matched her prom dress exactly, even down to the silver flecks. Since she was going to have  black feathers in her corsage we picked up a black feather “man-boa” for Shadow to wear around his neck. Now, my friends have tried to tell me that there is no such thing as a “man boa,”
but Trinity and Shadow will tell you different. They made such a stunning couple!

After we took pictures, Trinity went to the prom with “just a friend” while her real date went home with me.

We stopped by the big FuRR sale where volunteers were setting up.

Shadow walked around a bit on his leash and then hopped into a drawer and settled down. Such a hard day he had had, and such a good job he had done!

This was a rest he had earned.

On Friday Barney took over. I dropped him by the sale on my way to work. Barn is a little more laid
back and loves to walk on his leash. I knew I didn’t have anything to worry about because he had a big carrier to rest in and the FuRR gang always takes good care of him.

But I have to admit to giving a small gasp when I got to the sale after work. There was Barn, chilling under a tree, leash held tightly, of course, by a volunteer. Upon taking a closer look I saw that he was just chowing down and having a bit to drink after a long hard day. Because of his stellar performance on Friday, he won the opportunity to be on duty Saturday also.

We both arrived early Saturday morning, and Barney got busy PR-ing. He walked around and worked the crowd.

As a couple of little girls walked up to him, one looked at me and said, “Now THAT is unusual, isn’t it!”

Barn made quite a sight in his “peace, love and rock ‘n roll” bandana and he let the girls admire
it – and him – as they petted him.
His friend Trinity came by and took over the leash duties. They covered the sale site again and then
Barn posed for a picture with a bunch of the FuRR volunteers. He spent most of the day on duty, patrolling the area and letting himself be admired. He was very ready to go home and take a nap by the end of the afternoon.

What a busy week for a couple of young feline professionals holding down not just one job, but two. They do it with such style!

SUSAN LOESCH

We saw it first on Facebook and then on the news…Little Rock’s own icy version of the Love Bus, a VW bus crafted from snow and complete with cloth window curtains. The FuRR PR team of Barney, Shadow and Bob couldn’t pass this up, so we headed over to take a look.

This marked the first time the whole PR team had ventured out together since Bob came on board, so it was a special occasion.

Shadow wore his red and black sweater and a red bandana. Barney sported his puffy vest and his peace-and-love print bandana to set the mood.

We brought Bob the first item of his professional wardrobe, a black and white paw print bandana!

On the way over I tried to explain what we were going to see. “You know, guys, Woodstock, bell bottoms, Janis Joplin, the Grateful Dead.”

Silence.

“Well, how about flower power, peace symbols, Jefferson Airplane?”

Nothing.

“How about treats after we get home from our field trip?” That got a healthy “Rahrr” from Barney, and it wasn’t even in his usual grumpy tone. Guess the guys aren’t all that
much into the ‘60’s, but treats are always huge!

Bob was first to explore the Love Bus, and he sat happily in one of the windows. He looked like he was imagining sailing down the highway with the wind in his fur, radio blasting. He also took a look inside where he found a table and chair.

How cool is that!

Covering the entrance was a tie-dyed curtain which said “Living Life in Peace,” and we pushed it aside so Shadow could step in.

He must have felt the peace because he settled down with his paws on the threshold and just chilled for a while.

Barney was more interested in the roof of the bus and gave a huge s-t-r-e-t-c-h before looking around.

I think Barney would be the hippie snoozing in the back of the bus while Bob and Shadow sat up front belting out “Me and Bobby McGee” along with the radio.

We met Sarisa, who, along with friends Justin and Brandon, spent 18 hours building the bus and another 5 hours Friday repairing damage the warmer weather had done.

Sarisa brought out her cats Chloe and Marley, and they agreed to pose for some pictures. She told us that they already have plans for their next big project when it snows again.

Just like the ‘60’s, all good things must come to an end, so the boys went back to their carriers, and we headed home. As I talked to them on the way home I told them about Sarisa’s plans for the next snow.

“You know, guys, I’d been hoping there wouldn’t be any more snow for YEARS, and now I am thinking I can hardly wait ’til the next time to see what follows the Love Bus.”

“Rahrr,” said Barney. This time he was back to his usual grumpy voice.

Mr. “Snow? No!” Shadow didn’t even bother to comment. I already know his opinion of snow.

A little later, a handful of yummy Dentabite treats restored both boys’ good moods.

Then came naps, with dreams, no doubt, of flowers and peace symbols and cruises in their own Love Bus, well-stocked with Fancy Feast, treats and plenty of catnip.

SUSAN LOESCH

This weekend was The Cat’s Meow, the huge fundraiser in Hillcrest for Feline Rescue and Rehome.

It is such a big job for FuRR PR team Barney and Shadow that they split the duties and each worked a day.

Shadow’s day was Saturday, which started off really cold, so he began the day keeping warm in his green coat with the faux-fur lined hood and gold skull and crossbones on the back. He actually handled the coat better than anyone who has worn it before him! He at least walked around in it, where Footsie and Alex had just sat.

Shadow spent much of the day being carried by admiring fans and the rest perched on our checkout table keeping an eye on everything.

“You have very cute clothes, did you know that? I didn’t know they made coats for cats,” said an admirer.

I whispered that it was a D-O-G coat but that we don’t mention that in front of Shadow.

She understood the need to keep it a secret.

“My cats could sure learn a lot
from you about good behavior,” the lady went on to say.

Everyone who met Shadow agreed that he was a most unusual fella to be so at home in the middle of such noisy confusion.

Shadow soon met 7-year-old Anne-Elise, and they hit it off immediately!

She told him how beautiful he is and gave him lots of pets. They then posed together for a photo, both ‘old hands’ at having their picture taken, as Anne-Elise models in her spare time.

I think they would make a great team!

As the day warmed up, Shadow exchanged his coat for a fall-print bandana.

When he wasn’t interacting with the crowd he was EATING!

During the course of the day, he consumed bits of a sausage biscuit, pizza, a doughnut and lots and lots of cat grass.

FuRR has a volunteer who grows little pots of cat grass for each of our sales, and they are always popular.

Wandering along the checkout table, Shadow found the grass. He sat down and began to eat.

After sampling two different pots of grass, I suggested that he stop, and I put those pots in the box of things I had set aside to buy.

I told Shadow, “Just like stores who say ‘You break it, you buy it,’ at our
sale it is ‘You eat it, you buy it!”

Shadow wasn’t impressed. He soon was back on the table sampling
other pots of grass.

“Hey, Shadow,” someone said, “That isn’t a buffet just for you!”

Shadow looked up for a second as if to say, “Of course it is all for me!” He did stop eating, but I am sure it was only because he had all he wanted.

When I finished shopping and wrote my check, among my purchases were six partially-eaten pots of yummy green cat grass!

That was a pretty reasonable price for the services of an amazing PR kitty, don’t you think?

SUSAN LOESCH

Can you believe it is almost time for school to start? That means it’s time for a back-to-school visit to the doctor for the School for the Blind Library Cat staff, which requires making a trip to Pinnacle Valley Animal Hospital to see their vet, Dr. Cole Bierbaum.

Wouldn’t you know that we would end up picking the hottest week of the year for our trip — or rather trips. Getting all these guys checked out is way too much for one visit, so we did it Noah’s Ark style — two-by-two. Barney and Tank went the first day and Shadow and Hexie the second.

Dress was casual — it was way too hot for bandanas, and only Shadow and Tank wore collars. We seem to have had an epidemic of lost-collar-disease this summer, but that is a whole ‘nother story.

When we arrived, Ms. Lauren led Tank and Barney into “Big Footsie’s Room,” officially known as Exam Room 3. It got the Big Footsie designation over the 6-month period when Foots and I had a standing 4 p.m. Friday appointment for a blood-pressure check after his heart disease was diagnosed.

We almost always were in this room, and there are pictures of him displayed there. I always feel at home there and feel Footsie’s presence.

Tank needed a little reassurance, and Ms.Lauren was quick to pet him and make him feel comfortable. In exchange for the attention, she ended up with a fur coat of her own; when Tank gets nervous he sheds.

And I mean he REALLY sheds. Barney, however, was his usual laid-back self and just chilled on the exam table waiting for Dr. Cole to come in.

Dr. Cole did surgery on Tank’s eyes last fall when he was rescued from a feral colony where he was
coming to eat. His eyes were closed and so infected that we thought he might be blind.

A little surgery fixed him up, and other than having to wear an Elizabethan collar, or cone, to make sure he couldn’t reach up and scratch at his stitches, it was all smooth sailing.

Today his eyes were pronounced perfect, and Dr. Cole listened to his chest and gave him a shot for his cough.

Barney had his persistent skin issues checked out and was told to keep up the good work; he is healing nicely.

It was good news all around, and after the exam Dr. Cole lifted Tank up to see Big Footsie’s picture. I am not sure Tank appreciated that he was looking at a real icon of the cat world.

On the way out, we picked up two kitties for Feline Rescue and Rehome (FuRR). Dr. Cole is also our FuRR vet, and he had altered two kitties for us. Ms. Kristi held pretty black Trashbag up to tell her goodbye.

She got her unusual name because the family caring for her thought they were seeing a black trash bag blowing across their yard when they first saw her. Both she and Howey, who came from life on the streets of downtown Little Rock, will have much better lives now.

Barney and Tank must have told Shadow and Hexie all about their adventure because neither of them was visible when it was nearly time to leave the next day. They finally made an appearance with barely enough time to make our appointment.

When we arrived, Hexie went exploring and met the front desk staff. There is always a canine visitor or two behind the desk, and she met them, too. Luckily, Ms. Laura was able to keep the doggies from getting too close a look! I think they were more interested in Hexie than she was in them.

Back we went to “Big Footsie’s Room.” Shadow got lots of pets from Ms. Laura and then took his usual 3 seconds to feel completely at home. He jumped on the counters, found a package of treats, climbed through the leaves of a big plant and found Big Footsie’s pictures on his own.

Shadow got some blood drawn for tests and didn’t protest at all. As he stretched out on the exam table to help with Hexie’s exam, I mentioned that. Big Footsie always hit the door with a growl and a hiss.

Even mild-mannered Alex picked up where Footsie left off; just to take a look in his mouth we had to roll him up in a towel, into a “kitty burrito,” or risk his drawing blood as he refused the exam.

“These guys are a lot better behaved than Footsie and Alex, aren’t they?” I commented.

Dr. Cole laughed and said he didn’t know if he would be able to deal with that! Up until this point it seems to have been a library cat requirement to turn into a lion at the vet’s office.

Before having her exam, Hexie slipped into the adjoining exam room to say a kitty hello to Bunny, a
beautiful long-haired white kitty who was adopted from FuRR years ago by Ms. Susan. Bunny was
spending time at the clinic being treated for renal disease, and his mom had come to visit.

Bunny and Hexie came into the FuRR program at about the same time, and they actually knew each other way back when.

Bunny is fun to pet and hug; it is like squeezing a big white cloud. We hope he feels better fast and is soon back at home.

Hexie’s exam centered on issues she has with her enucleated eye, and Dr. Cole changed her medication slightly.

She lost an eye to infection when she was little. Hexie was such a good patient and should soon be fine.

On the way back to the waiting room, I introduced Shadow to Ms. Libby who knew Big Footsie well.

“Hi, Shadow,” she said. “You have some big footsies to fill, don’t you.”

Shadow donned his harness so that he could safely explore the waiting room. He found the scale and checked his weight: 10.4 pounds. He looked at all the collars, toys and treats for sale and
then settled down in a bin with the sign, “All Natural Dog Cookies $ .50.”

He would have been perfectly happy staying there a while watching all the activity but we had to leave. Shadow was not at all happy being put back into his carrier, but I did get him a package of treats.

So now the Library Cat staff is all ready for school to start. And me? Not so much! Summer vacation has passed all too quickly.

If you would like to know more about Pinnacle Valley Animal Hospital, check out their web site at
http://www.pinnaclevalleyanimalhospital.com.

You can meet Dr. Bierbaum, Dr. Laura Mehaffy and all the staff members there, and as Barney, Tank, Shadow and Hexie will tell you, they are all great!

SUSAN LOESCH

CATS IN THE STACKS

End of Course exams and the Jr./Sr. Prom…what a week here! The result was lots of extra kids in the library, lots of attention for the library cats, and me finding my new best friends…the Rugrats!

Barney was here on prom day. The seniors were not really interested in their teachers’ assignments, and who can blame them? Barney got lots of petting from kiddos who had been in elementary school when Footsie first arrived on the scene and had grown up with him.

Mary put Footsie’s pink bandana on Barney. “Thank you for being a real man and wearing pink, she told him! None of the guys here will wear pink.”

I finally dug out some Rugrats videos which had just been donated, had the seniors pull beanbag chairs into the video room and watch.

Ah, peace reigned, at last, and the older kids had a ball doing “little kid stuff!”

On Friday I brought our final applicant for a Library Cat position, Shadow. More than one person remarked that catching a quick glimpse of him, for a second it seemed that Big Footsie was back.

Shadow is about a year old, found as a stray kitten. Feline Rescue and Rehome helped his rescuers take care of him, supplying food, litter and medical care. When they moved where they could not have cats, Shadow became a FuRR kitty.

I had older kids first period, quiet and tired from the prom. We sat at a table with Shadow and he acted as if he’d been here for years, being held, sitting in laps, posing for pictures, and just basically lapping up the attention.

We took his picture smelling Mary’s prom roses.

Then came my younger students!

“He looks like a Shadow.” “He really looks like Big Footsie only more so!” “We need to call him Big Footsie Two, or Big Footsie Returns.” ”He has to be Big Footsie the Second, and Barney is Alex the Second.”

From my fifth grader, Brianna: “He interacts with everyone. He’s perfect. He’s gonna be a camera star!”

Brianna has been in the library a lot this week observing the library cats and how they interact with everyone, information for the class newspaper article she was writing on the cats. She is moving out of state after today, and her whole class was full of energy when they came for Library Skills. So, once again, out came the beanbags and the Rugrats.

“I had never seen the Rugrats before yesterday,” I told them.

“Ms, Loesch, you haven’t SEEN them? You’re weird! But we love you anyway,” said Brianna.

The video held everyone’s interest, and the group was quiet. From now on I think the Rugrats and I are gonna be really tight!

SUSAN LOESCH
CATS IN THE STACKS

The holidays are officially here! How do I know? Saturday was Photos with Santa time for the library cats!

Every year, starting when our original library cat, Piper, was just 4 months old, we’ve headed to CARE for Animals to have Santa pictures made.

Piper and Big Footsie were both CARE rescues who happily ended up with me, and this is our holiday tradition, repeated this year for the 10th time.

There are lots of laughs connected with our annual jaunts.

One year Footsie had his ears back, no doubt annoyed at his assistants’ behavior.

Then there was the photo that looked like Valley was singing Christmas carols, when actually he was protesting with all the lung-power he could muster.

Alex was looking away as if he were about to die of embarrassment.

In last year’s photo, Footsie posed like the pro he was while Alex and Piper carried on a conversation!

This year, I told Alex, he would have to be much more serious; after all he is now the Head Library Cat!

Alex and Piper posed calmly but neither would look at the camera.

I stood behind the photographer trying to get their attention, and someone else was waving a cat toy to tempt them to look our way. I don’t think the photographer ever did get a shot with Alex and Piper looking her way, but that’s OK.

Part of the fun is the poses that aren’t perfect. I always enlarge the photo to poster size for the kids at school and I know they will love it no matter what!

Later Saturday evening, Alex donned Footsie’s green coat again to act as a greeter at FuRR’s benefit at the Afterthought. Once again he was the center of attention. I think he is enjoying all his gigs as Head Library Cat.

SUSAN LOESCH

CATS IN THE STACKS

“You are HOT, Alex, really hot!” Just what a handsome library cat likes to hear.

This came from one of the customers at the Cat’s Meow, FuRR’s huge yard sale, this weekend.

Alex was on the job for two days and he was joined by his friend Snuggle Bunny, a 6-month-old Siamese kitten. Together they charmed the crowd.

This was Snuggle Bunny’s first appearance and Alex showed her the ropes.

Alex met a little girl, Ellie, who he really liked, and he cuddled in her arms for a long time. She told him, “I wish we could have a Library Cat like you at our school.” I bet Alex agreed with her that that would be a wonderful idea.

By the second day of the sale, Alex was a little grumpy. He was tired by then, and not only was he sharing the spotlight with Snuggle Bunny but also with a cute, little 3-week-old bottle baby, Chloe.

When he met her, he just didn’t like her a bit.

I reminded him that she was just the age he was when he first came to me, but Alex definitely preferred Ellie over the bottle baby. That was obvious.

Last week, because he was going to have a busy weekend, Alex got a day off his Library Cat job.

It happened to be the day the first graders came for a story. This was the conversation:

“Where is Alex’s bed?”

“I moved it from the desk to my office.”

“Where is Alex?”

“He is home, probably asleep.”

“But this IS his home. His bed is here, so this is Alex’s home.”

That makes perfect sense to me! Arkansas School for the Blind is definitely Alex’s home, even if it is his second home.

After working three straight weekends Alex gets next weekend to rest. I think he wants to renegotiate his Library Cat contract and take out all these weekend gigs!

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’s an exciting week here in the library with Halloween coming.

Alex, though, had such a busy weekend that he didn’t have time to think about his costume. The third graders…Well, that is another story!

When they came to the library for their regular visit this morning the question on everyone’s lips was: “What is Alex going to be for Halloween?”

“It is a surprise,” I said.

“Is he going to wear Footsie’s bat wings?” asked one student.

“Is he coming as a black cat? I still think he should come as Big Footsie,” said another.

“Is he going to be a witch?”

“No, none of those. You can have more guesses but I am not going to answer any more.”

That didn’t stop the guesses from coming: A vampire, a little green frog, a goblin and a skeleton were all mentioned. I didn’t tell the kids, but, no, none of those, although one may be getting a little close.

Our story today, Little Witch’s Big Night, by Deborah Hautzig, had a character wearing just what Alex will wear but nobody guessed it.

What will Alex be? It is still a surprise!

But I can tell you a few more things he won’t be, all costumes he tried on during our trip to Petsmart. One was my very favorite, a dragon. They didn’t have the costume in Alex’s size, though, only in an extra-small. Alex’s tummy is definitely not an extra-small! We also decided not to get the pumpkin costume or the lion. Lots of the kids are sure he will be a lion since we are the School for the Blind Lions! Boy, are they going to be surprised.

Alex spent his Sunday afternoon representing FuRR (Feline Rescue and Rehome) at a benefit. It was outdoors, and Alex acted like it was all no big deal; even the dogs there from another rescue group didn’t bother him. He wore his Halloween t-shirt and Harley bandana and had his picture taken with the governor, the lieutenant governor and the mayor.

But he was most impressed with the chicken wings that were served; he ate his and mine, both!

SUSAN LOESCH
CATS IN THE STACKS

A day without Alex here with me on the job is…just not fun. I left him early this morning at the office of his vet, Dr. Cole Bierbaum. As part of a complete physical for his new job it was discovered that Alex needed some teeth pulled.

We weighed him: 8.4 pounds. “Has he had anything to eat this morning?” I told them no.

I know he was hungry by then, but it was important not to eat before surgery. When the vet tech came out to get him I told her that this was Alex, Big Footsie’s successor.

Her eyes widened. “Alex sure has some big footsies to fill, doesn’t he?” He does!

When my 4th graders came in they asked for Alex. “You mean you left him there? He has to wait for you? That’s a long time to be there.”

It sure is, and the hours are dragging.

This same group of students came in several days ago.

“We have something for you, Ms. Loesch,” they said, as one student stretched his hands out, cupping a crumpled piece of notebook paper with something wrapped inside. I hesitated. Just the day before I’d received a huge grasshopper, presented in much the same way!

But this was no grasshopper, nor anything else alive. There nestled in the paper were 4 little cat figures, including a black Footsie one, and a handful of change, nickels and quarters and pennies. The notebook paper was a picture of a black cat they had drawn in the dorm the night before. And a note that said, “We are sorry your cat died. We will always miss him.”

I told them that my rescue group, FuRR, has renamed our Coffee Fund, which helps pay for vet care for cats whose owners are not able to do it themselves. The new name is Footsie’s Coffee Fund, and their donation will a part of that. That brought big smiles all around.

And Alex came through his surgery just fine!