SUSAN LOESCH

CATS IN THE STACKS

I’ve always thought of January and February as the draggy, dull months in the school year. Alex assures me that isn’t so, at least for him.

Last week, our secondary social studies students staged a history parade, complete with costumes, signs and drums. Alex had to go out and see what was happening in the hall, and he had his picture taken with the group.

One student in the parade was our exchange student from Turkey.

As Alex was passed from person to person, our new student asked if she could hold him.

“Of course,” I said. I was aware that she hadn’t petted him or held him while hanging out in the library. I soon found out why.

“Oh!” she exclaimed. “This is the first time in my life I have ever held an animal!”

How exciting to be a part of her warming up to Alex and maybe taking her first steps toward becoming a lifelong animal lover!

We have been anxiously watching the weather reports this week! It is Spirit Week at Arkansas School for the Blind, leading up to our Homecoming Parade, winding through Hillcrest, on Friday. We are not liking the 80% rain chance.

Spirit Week, though, is in high gear and Alex is involved to the max.

On Stars and Stripes Day, he wore his flag-print bandana and posed with his secondary buddies who also wore red, white and blue.

For Fairy Tale Day, he dressed as Little Red Riding Hood, complete with red cape, and hung out for a while with Makayla, who was dressed as the same character.

On Western Day, Alex wore a wild mustang-print bandana. Alas, little kitty cowboy boots were nowhere to be found, which is probably why Alex was so happy all day!

After Dress-Up Day, wearing a tie, Alex will ride in his own float Friday in the parade.

We have finished the big signs with his picture and the words “Alex, ASB Library Cat.”
This will be Alex’s first Homecoming Parade and he is ready to roll!

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!