SUSAN LOESCH
CATS IN THE STACKS

We are back to school today! Alex is wearing his Christmas bandana that lights up when he moves. He does look very handsome. He is having quite a day, too…No wonder he likes coming to work better than staying at home.

The day started with a can of his favorite treat, Fancy Feast Appetizers.

At the end of first period, Brandon, one of my 5th graders, came calling, “Alex, I have something for you!”

And he sure did: A velvet-feeling green Christmas stocking filled with packages of all kinds of toys for Alex and even a Christmas card.

What fun we had watching as each package was opened to reveal mice, all kinds of balls with bells in them and a soft sparkly green ball. Not having to wait ‘til Christmas to open presents is pretty cool.

Later, my third graders came. We try to always follow the rule “Books before cats,” so Alex stayed in my office while the kids selected library books and had a library skills lesson.

Before they left, though, Alex came out to visit, and he was rewarded with a big kiss from one of his admirers.

The kids also enjoyed looking at a 2010 calendar which I have put on the bulletin board, turned to December of next year. The calendar is from CARE for Animals, the group which rescued our Big Footsie from Animal Services, and he is being honored by being featured on the December page.

We are all touched and proud. We especially like part of the caption, “He was a one-of-a-kind kitty who brought joy to so many.”

In that way Footsie and Alex are a lot alike.

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!