Mooresville (Indiana) Public Library has had many resident animals over the years--birds, lizards, salamanders, turtles, fish, mice, guinea pigs, gerbils, a ferret--but, so far as I know, there has been only one feline roving reporter.
One cold December day in 2010, I saw a black cat hanging out by the library's front entrance. As patrons came and went, the cat would run alongside for a few feet, mewing pitifully. Although she looked reasonably well-fed, I presumed she was a stray (or had been cruelly dumped to fend for herself), so I telephoned my wife, who promptly brought canned and hard cat food from home to share with our new feline friend. As the temperature was likely to drop well below zero by nightfall, and the library was closing shortly, we didn't have time to canvas the neighborhood, so we decided to give the kitty shelter for a few days until the weather warmed up. So we took her home.
We called her
Cauliflower, as she had a bad ear from some past feline fracas. Then we
began to consider what to do with her. We felt a bit guilty
"catnapping' her, in case she had lived close to the library. We didn't
want to deprive someone of a beloved pet. We took her to our
veterinarian, who said she was probably four years old and was
healthy. She wasn't too pleased about receiving a battery of shots,
though.
With warmer temperatures arriving a few days later, we returned Cauliflower to the library and allowed her to make her own way back where she came from, watching closely to ensure she came to no harm from careless drivers. Cauliflower sauntered down the sidewalk for a block or so, walking directly to the front door of a house where several outdoor cats congregated. We suspected that this was Cauliflower's point of origin, but, as we later learned, it was hardly a "forever home."
A few hours later, I happened to be walking around outside when I saw Cauliflower in the library's exterior Kindergarden area, searching for prey among the bushes. This time, I carried her to the house she had previously walked to and rang the doorbell. An irritated occupant answered the door.
"Is this your cat?" I queried.
"Maybe," said the occupant, who looked fairly seedy. "I don't pay much attention. We got a whole lotta cats that live in the barn." It was, at best, a dilapidated shed on the rear of the property. There must have been half a dozen cats lying around the broken shed door.
That decided the matter as far as I was concerned. "If you're not sure she's yours, I'll ask around the neighborhood."
"Okay." Occupant shut the door.
None of the other nearby residents claimed Cauliflower, so I returned her to the library, and, later, took her to my home again. She subsequently decided she liked living at our neighbor's house better than with us, so she began spending most of her time there.
Cauli Le Chat, official MPL feline roving reporter (2010-2019)
Since we had discovered Cauliflower roaming around outside the library, my wife suggested that she should be put to work, if we were going to feed and shelter her. "Maybe she could be your library's pet, and she could be like a spokesperson for the library," my wife suggested.
"Spokescritter," I prompted.
"Since she roams around town, she could be the library's roving reporter, sharing library news with your patrons."
That was a stroke of genius on my wife's part. "She could even write a blog promoting the library. But she needs a catchier name."
My wife thought for a moment. "If she's a feline roving reporter, she should have a classy name. Maybe something French, like Cauli Le Chat."
And so a feline blog was born.
Cauli Le Chat became Mooresville Public Library's official feline roving reporter, blogging about anything she found interesting at the library, around town, or wherever else that grabbed her attention. She vigorously promoted the library and Mooresville, her hometown. She was known for her acerbic, sarcastic tone. She did not suffer fools gladly, especially among her human "co-workers." This was an affectation, however; she had a pleasant personality and was friendly toward most everyone. She posted hundreds of articles to her blog, which were read over half a million times around the world. Not bad for a cat working at a small township library.
Unlike resident library cats such as Baker and Taylor, Dewey Readmore Books, Tober (and Chance), Browser, Oliver, Porter C. Bibliocat, Carnegie, Elsie, Trixie, and many, many more, Cauli did not actually live inside the library. Several also predated Cauli's online presence, as did other resident library "spokescritters" like Morgan the Library Bunny. But Cauli was different in that she played the roving reporter role. She was designed to report, and, thus, market, the library's resources, events, and activities.
Cauli retired a couple of times from blogging, as she eventually became an exclusively indoor kitty. She passed away a few days ago.
Cauli's efforts to promote Mooresville Public Library were distinctive compared with those of us who were paid to work there. She was paid, too--free room and board with "Kindly Couple" and our neighbors--but, most importantly, she was paid with love, which she generously reciprocated. I will miss her cheerfulness, her good company, and the sheer joy she radiated at being alive and free.
