SUSAN LOESCH

CATS IN THE STACKS

What a great Library Cat Christmas we had here yesterday! Our first Christmas party with Alex doing the hosting was a big success. Alex, SnuggleBunny and Piper all arrived at school early and put on a holiday collar. They had a tasty crunchy breakfast of Fancy Feast Filet Mignon With Real Seafood and Shrimp and settled down to wait for their company to arrive.

Soon we had most of the elementary students here and some of the older kids. Alex and SnuggleBunny visited with the crowd and seemed to be having a good time. Some of our youngest students came along and were quite taken with Alex’s ears and tail and whiskers. He was so patient letting them explore these things that make a kitty a kitty.

My fifth and sixth graders introduced SnuggleBunny to the younger students. It is still our secret that she will be a regular assistant on the day these older classes come to the library. Brianna introduced her to the group. “This is SnuggleBunny, and she is a friend of Alex and Piper’s,” she told everyone. Makayla was great explaining feline leukemia to everyone and telling them how we decided to help her have a happy life even if it is short. It was obvious that these girls were speaking from the heart.

“SnuggleBunny is a Chinese cat, isn’t she?”  “No, she is a Siamese cat,” I told the third graders.

But somehow a Chinese cat is what this group has decided she is. “Look, there’s a Chinese cat here,” one of them soon told a new guest. Luckily, SnuggleBunny seems to be ok with that.

As the day wore on presents came pouring in.  Our speech teacher brought Alex a gift wrapped in a furry material that matched his real fur. He got a wand with a feather toy on it and a catnip-filled donkey. Some of his friends from FuRR came by to say hello and one brought him a whole gift bag full of toys and treats.  Another brought cans and cans of food; this was way better than Christmas for the library cats!

The party began to wind down and so did the cats. Alex seemed happy to just be carried around. SnuggleBunny’s eyes began to droop. By the time the party was over both of them were in Alex’s bed on the front desk, sound asleep.

The only kitty stirring was Piper, who had made several short visits to the party – maybe 3 seconds each!  He’d slept in the sink during most of the party and now was full of energy – just in time to go home.

SUSAN LOESCH

CATS IN THE STACKS

Another rainy day. A good day to read and think.

One of my students reads to Alex from Skippyjon Jones in the Doghouse, by Judith B. Schachner. It’s about a Siamese cat who imagines himself a Chihuahua.

Everyone knows
From my big ears to my toes,
I’m not a Siamese cat.
I’m Skippyjonjones,
A Chihuahua to my bones.
And that’s what I think about that.

“Why,” Alex wonders, “would a CAT ever want to be a DOG?

“And why, oh why, would my mom even consider a witch costume for me for Halloween? I’m a BOY! A warlock, maybe, but, please, not a witch.”

Alex is relieved that the witch costume joined the stack of others not chosen.