It’s that meow-velous time of year when we release our annual cat calendar, featuring the faces of friendly felines from around the world. And to top it off, some are even library cats! We are happy to formally introduce you to our 2019 cats!
January
Zephyr | 1 year old
Unique talent: Zephyr loves adventure! He goes hiking, paddleboarding, skiing, and snowshoeing in Colorado.
What makes your cat special?When he’s not exploring the world, he loves wrestling with his best friend, our 9 month old Australian Shepherd puppy, Dante.
Ryan Case, Jefferson County Public Library (Wheat Ridge, CO)
February
Benedict & Beatrice | 2.5 and 2 years old
Unique talent: Benedict can make earbuds magically disappear from sight, and then reappear in his stomach. Beatrice can make anyone do her bidding with just a single glance of her innocent blue eyes.
What makes your cat special? They are toasted marshmallow cats that love more than anything to snuggle with one another in their shared shark bed and have long intense conversations about the world’s issues for hours on end, specifically at 2 am.
Liz Braithwaite, Milwaukee Public Library (Milwaukee, WI)
March
Samantha | 3 years old
Unique talent: Her unique talent is knocking over her water bowl multiple times a day and depositing fur everywhere.
What makes your cat special? Samantha is the cat of the Tyler Public Library. She currently lives in the staff area of the Tyler Public Library providing love and fur for all of her humans. She is special because she gets to live and work alongside our library staff.
Aleya Stone, Tyler Public Library (Tyler, TX)
April
Lily | 6 years old
Unique talent: Lily is an expert hide and seek player. When entering a (seemingly empty) room, we are often stalked and tagged by her (just a light tap on the leg with her paw). When we hide, Lily becomes determined to find us and tags us with her paw to let us know it’s her turn to hide again.
What makes your cat special? She thinks she is a person! She will climb under the covers with us and fall asleep for hours with her head on the pillow. It gets a bit cramped, but how could we say no to that face?
Hannah & Tom Baumgartner, Gates Public Library (Rochester, NY)
May
Cinco| 5 years old
Unique talent: Cinco can track down all earplugs that mistakenly cross his path.
What makes your cat special? Cinco’s playful antics always make me laugh, which he follows up with a sweet purring neck cuddle, which makes me fall in love with him all over again.
Amy Perry, Middleton Public Library (Middleton, WI)
June
Spike | 11 years old
Unique talent: Spike has his own Staff Pick Page at Left Bank Books in St. Louis! He typically outsells all the store’s staff members. He is also fantastically photogenic.
What makes your cat special? Spike guest starred in an Emily Giffin novel, Where We Belong!
Lauren Wiser, Left Band Books (St. Louis, MO)
July
Elena | 3 years old
Unique talent: She loves to sneak outside whenever possible and explore, especially high places. I once came home and found her sitting on my roof.
What makes your cat special? Elena was found in a feral cat trap. She was taken to the vet, spayed, and given an ear tip because they planned to release her back where they found her. Once Elena started waking up from surgery, she had such a sweet and affectionate personality that the staff knew she needed a home and family of her own rather than live as a feral cat.
Lauren Elyea, Vigo County Public Library (Terre Haute, IN)
August
Baby | 3 years old
Unique talent: Destructive energy and high jumps abound when Baby is around! He will always be a kitten at heart!
What makes your cat special? Born to a feral mom, Baby couldn’t be fully socialized to humans. But whenever his rescue mom’s camera whirs to action, Baby’s inner supermodel springs to life and he never fails to strike that perfect pose!
Iryna Bennett, Forth Worth Public Library (Fort Worth, TX)
September
Thackery Binx |13.5 years old
Unique talent: He’s unable to leave an empty chair alone. If you get up, he sits down. It’s gotten so bad that now he has his own chair at the table whenever we have company over, and as a result, he’s become a regular tabletop board game connoisseur.
What makes your cat special? He’s been my cuddle-buddy ever since he was a kitten. A total lap cat and under-the-cover snuggler. He also appreciates when I warble terrible ‘80s music at him.
Elizabeth Evenson-Dencklau, South Omaha Library (Omaha, NE)
October
Mr. Darcy | 6 months
Unique talent: Camouflaging into orange blankets
What makes your cat special? He takes a while to warm up to new people but once he does he is the most loyal of companions
Tracey Kearns, Upper Hutt City Libraries, (Upper Hutt, New Zealand)
November
Garbo| 5 years old
Unique talent: Garbo has the innate ability to be our alarm clock on weekend mornings when we still want to sleep.
What makes your cat special? She is a caring and cuddly cat when she wants to be and will curl up on your lap or begin kneading you. However, when she’s had enough love, watch out or you might get a bite.
Gina Quesenberry, LA County Library (Library Headquarters)
December
Rufus | 10 years old
Unique talent: Classically trained opera singer (Rufus is a tenor)
What makes your cat special? He is a master of acoustics. He has figured out that his voice is even louder if he “sings” into the corner of the bedroom. Each morning he entertains us by performing one of his famed arias until we feed him.
Rick Manuel, Lafayette Public Library (Lafayette, LA)
And last, but not least, our cover cat…
Sassafrass|1 year old
Unique talent: She likes to do flips while playing with her cat wand toy, jumping into boxes and playing chase.
What makes your cat special? She is fascinated with water (she loves watching us get ready in the morning especially when we brush our teeth), loves sitting in sinks and when she wants attention, her high-pitch meows remind me of the “Magic Flute Queen of the Night” aria by Mozart.
Randi Carreno, Fountaindale Public Library (Bolingbrook, IL)
Notes In The Margin 