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Library cats
I haven't been posting much lately because I've been feeling very down (for the usual reasons: no job, stuck at end of world etc etc) and can't think of much to say. So hey, here are seven American library cats for you, combining two of my favourite things.
Dewey is the most famous. In 1988, after being discovered in a frozen book return bin, Dewey Readmore Books became the official mascot of the Spencer Public Library in Iowa. He attended meetings, greeted patrons, and inspected every delivery until he died in 2006 at the age of 19. People drove hundreds of miles to meet him, and Library director Vicki Myron wrote a best-selling book, Dewey: The Small-Town Library Cat Who Touched the World. The first chapter is on the site and I first read it last year and it made me cry then. I did this time too. :-P
Squeakers lived on the campus of Wesleyan College in Macon, Georgia, for ten years before becoming Willet Memorial Library’s library cat. She was about 23 years old when she died in 2008 which is damn good going. Squeakers spent most of her time in her later years sitting in a comfy chair near the library entrance, so she could see and inspect everyone who came in.
Nyx is amazing because she was born without eyes in 2008 yet gets around as easily as a sighted cat, sitting on the back of chairs, playing with toys, jumping on counters and desks, batting pens and pencils onto the floor, and unwrapping and eating librarian's lunches. Like a bat, she uses echolocation--she makes sounds and calculates how far they travel when they bounce back. She also has a super-loud purr (notice how she knows where the camera is) and is spoiled rotten by the staff and patrons with attention and toys.
Browser has lived at the Pine River Library in Minnesota since 2002. He even moved along with the library to their new building. There are photos of him on Flickr; skip the Halloween stuff and go to pages 5 and onwards.
Max was thought of as the Library Cat at the Hastings Branch Library in Pasadena from the early 80s until 1996, even though he never actually lived there. He lived nearby but visited the library so often the librarians issued him his own library card. Max would go and wait at the library door until someone opened it for him, and once inside, he ruled the roost. One day, Max’s visits stopped. The A concerned library staff investigated, and discovered that his family had moved away, taking Max with them. I hope he found another library.
Addison is the resident cat at the Nash Library at the University of Science and Arts of Oklahoma. Their site has moved and I couldn't find anything about him on the new version, but here's a photo of him fund-raising for his favourite charity.
TLC (Top Library Cat) lives at the Broken Bow Public Library in Nebraska where he has a fireplace. And, it seems, his own reading matter and some Lolita sunglasses.
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BTW I heard they're making a film about him with Meryl Streep.
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-- at least in part because the hero of the story was still alive. :)
Thanks for the library cats!
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Ah, I always thought of a cat here in our library but we are in the very centre on the town and my boss doesn´t like animals and hates cats - strange person:-( and i commutte and wouldn´t be able to take care of him/her...
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And thanks for the lovely kitty stories...
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Cats and books ho together well--in most cases. I wouldn't wish our Jasmin on any library. She'd be pushing books off shelves, jumping on keyboards, and covering the floor with potentially dangerous pens and other toys.
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Thanks for the links! I'd not heard of any but the first cat there. Those are some touching stories. :-)
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Sorry to hear you've been feeling down, but thanks for a fascinating post. I'm really disturbed to find via the library cats map that the library I grew up using had at least 3 cats and I never met one of them!
Nyx is incredible. And I've had the 'Dewey' book on my to buy list for several months now, since I first noticed it at a bookstore. Thanks to your post it's just moved to the top of my list.
How are your own bundles of fur and joy?
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They're fine. I don't see much of them in this prolonged lovely dry weather as outside is more interesting to them, but we get their company in the evenings. Ashley would make a lovely library cat, but Jasmin is too naughty and disruptive and yowly.
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http://ww2.cityofpasadena.net/librarykids/meetmax.asp
You should go--what better excuse for a field trip.
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I'm due to put up some cat photos of all three.
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I got both my females as adults from the shelter approx. two years ago; the first was Tosca who is a sort of silver-toned tortoiseshell in colour, and has lovely green eyes. She is cowardly in the extreme and dislikes sudden loud noises to the extent that she will dive for cover at the mere hint that I might sneeze. She is very affectionate however, and loves to cuddle. The second cat, Selma, is a regular brown tabby. She is the more nonchalant and dignified of the two, though the effect is slightly spoiled by the fact that she is also a little bow-legged, which gives her a bit of a funny walk... :-) (only a little though.)
The cat love-of-my-life is still the pale ginger tom that I grew up with, 16 years of age by now. He lives at my sister's house out in the countryside nowadays though, since he needs to be able to be outdoors and that is something that I can't offer in my current life-situation. His name was originally Bartolomeus, though we ended up just using the last syllable of that, so really it’s "Uss”.
I'd love to see photos of your cats, and hear some more about them.
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You can see photos of my previous two cats and the current three (with overlap) under my cats tag (http://vilakins.livejournal.com/tag/cats); check out the ones with the "photo" tag. It's a pity you can't select all entries with both tags. The previous page in that link will get you some of my late and beloved Claudia and Tessa. I'd send you to my cat gallery (http://pics.livejournal.com/vilakins/gallery/00003wka) but there are 7 pages there. Still, the first and last pages will show you both lots of cats.
I've also done drawings of them, of which this icon is one. :-)
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Maybe I'll post some pictures of them in my own journal one of these days.
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Tosca sounds like a little cat a friend had, called Grigina (little grey one in Italian). She was smoky with flashes of orange as if there were sparks in the smoke, and she was very beautiful. I look forward to pictures of your cats.
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Thanks so much for compiling and posting all these cat-and-library stories! I've only had time to read on Dewey and will hopefully get to the rest of the kits over the weekend. How are all your cats? I hope they're all doing well and enjoying your cooler autumn weather. :o)
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The cats are fine, and a bit more cuddlier now it's slightly cooler. It's pretty warm again this weekend though.