Confession time. We’re cat people here at Baker & Taylor (OK, maybe that wasn’t a huge secret).

Every year we release our annual cat calendar featuring the faces of friendly felines from around the country. Many are even library cats! Now, we’d like to formally introduce them to you all.

January

Mew | 3 years old

Unique talent: We joke that Mew is more dog than cat. While we have only had him for six months, he has learned to sit on command.

What makes your cat special? He loves to have his belly rubbed, and will flop over on his back whenever one of us is close.  He has become my constant companion, and his favorite place to sleep is at the foot of my bed.

Deanna Hart, Lantern Lane (Stokesdale, NC)

February

Buddy | 18 years old

Unique talent: He can befriend anyone.

What makes your cat special? He can always put a smile on your face, no matter what.

Aaron Salo, American Marine Express (Cleveland, OH)

March

Kyle | 3.5 years old

Unique talent: His special talent is fetching a foil ball (and then stashing it under the couch for later).

What makes your cat special? Kyle is very special to us because we lost one of our wonderful cats last January to feline lymphoma. Ever since, we’ve been more lonely. Kyle has certainly added some excitement to the household and has become best friends with our other cat. They love to sit in the backyard together to eat grass and romp in clovers during outside (supervised) playtime.

Laura Deuser, Creve Couer Camera (St. Louis, MO)

April

Posey May | 5 years old

Unique talent: She can fetch a toy mouse and can hear you open a carton of frozen yogurt from across the house.

What makes your cat special? She can be the sweetest kitty and very loving, but when she’s had enough, look out!  Posey can be a real jerk, and if you cross her, she will take revenge.  She’ll sneak up on you and bite your ankle and then run away.

Penny Weitzel, Mason City Public Library (Mason City, IA)

May

Emily Butterball | 2.5 years old

Unique talent: Emily will, in all her bundle of playfulness, maneuver herself to fit into any size paper bag/grocery bag that she can find on a daily basis.  She will sit and hide for a while until she moves on to find the next activity.

What makes your cat special? Emily entered our lives when she first walked through the library’s automatic entrance doors.  She walked in cool and calmly, like she knew that this was a welcoming and happy place to be, in our library. She is so special to us because if she is ignored she will get our attention immediately by positioning herself on her back, fully extended, with her back legs up and her front paws on her chest crossed with her head looking sideways, until we call her name or rub her stomach.

Dan Rodriguez, Beaumont Special District Library (Beaumont, CA)

June

Dasher | 7 years old

Unique talent: Keeping people in his house pinned down for hours. If he chooses to sit in someone’s lap and show his tummy, they are powerless to move.

What makes your cat special? He found us as a scrawny stray kitten and has grown into a handsome, 15 lb. teddy bear.

Lisa Liban, St. Francis Public Library (St. Francis, WI)

July

Silas & Rosie | 1 year old

Unique talent: Silas can jump 6 feet high from a standstill. Rosie bats her paws while standing on her hind paunches.

What makes your cat special? Silas is like a dog. He loves laps more than anything and will let you rub his belly and ears until he falls from rolling over too much. Rosie just is a doll of a cat! She purrs loudly, knows when attention and love are needed. They also are perfect with my two daughters aged 2 and 5! They’re practically inseparable!

Tom Schneider, Premier Packaging (Macedon, NY)

August

Mimi | 2 years old

Unique talent: Mimi’s unique talent is parkour. She is fantastic at running up the side of the couch and leaping on the peacock chair or leaping onto a tree mid-trunk and scaling it to the top.

What makes your cat special? She is special because she’s my therapy cat. She helped heal my broken heart with her funny antics, her tiny legs, her crazy whiskers, and her sweet personality.

Rachel Foyt, Santa Monica Public Library (Santa Monica, CA)

September

Simba | 4 years old

Unique talent: She can do somersaults.

What makes your cat special? She is as sweet-tempered as she is beautiful.

Kate Hawkins, Grand Rapids Public Library (Grand Rapids, MI)

October

Marconi | 4 years old

Unique talent: Marconi was a stray cat who was adopted by the WFIT radio station staff at the Florida Institute of Technology (FIT) where I work.

What makes your cat special? The official FIT mascot is a black panther. Marconi is a miniature version who serves as the radio station unofficial mascot. Marconi is very friendly with the staff and students. On nice days he suns himself on the sidewalk and socializes with passers-by. He also likes to prowl through the campus foliage as he’s doing in the photo.

Albert Bleakley, Florida Institute of Technology (Cocoa, FL)

November

Emma| 5 years old

Unique talent: She can tell time because she always knows when the staff members who give her treats will arrive for work.

What makes your cat special? Emma is the library cat at LaGrange County Public Library. Emma likes to keep the library staff company by sitting in their laps and lounging on their desks. She also likes to sleep in empty Baker & Taylor book boxes.

Richard Kuster, LaGrange County Public Library (LaGrange, IN)

December

Fiona | 6 months old

Unique talent: Fiona is a yarn enthusiast who loves to carry skeins of yarn around the house.  No knitting happens without her full attention as she loves to bat at the yarn.

What makes your cat special? Fiona loves water and enjoys jumping in to splash around.  If you ever want to know where she is, all you need to do is turn on the faucet and she will come running!

Janet Spaulding, The Indianapolis Public Library (Indianapolis, IN)

And last, but not least, our cover cat…

Kiley| 8 years old

Unique talent: Whenever someone knocks on the door, Kiley runs so fast it seems like her feet aren’t even touching the ground. Whenever someone says the word “birdie,” Kiley runs to the back door to watch the birds.

What makes your cat special? Kiley is so sweet and protective of her sister Zoey. She has always looked out for her, starting when they were kittens on their way to the vet in the same cat carrier—Kiley was lying on top of Zoey to keep her safe.

Kerri Sullivan, Monmouth County Library (Manalapan, NJ)