Caturday felid trifecta: Cat wanders onto White House grounds; a bookstore where you can read with a cat (and then adopt it); cats as therapy animals, and lagniappe

A straying (but not stray) cat named Sophie wandered onto the White House grounds, but fortunately it was rescued by news correpondents who were there at the time. Click below to read the AP article: An excerpt: A gray cat wearing a collar and a name tag that said “Sophie” wandered into the White House … Continue reading Caturday felid trifecta: Cat wanders onto White House grounds; a bookstore where you can read with a cat (and then adopt it); cats as therapy animals, and lagniappe

May 3, 2025 - 17:39

Caturday felid trifecta: Cat wanders onto White House grounds; a bookstore where you can read with a cat (and then adopt it); cats as therapy animals, and lagniappe

A straying (but not stray) cat named Sophie wandered onto the White House grounds, but fortunately it was rescued by news correpondents who were there at the time.

Click below to read the AP article:

An excerpt:

A gray cat wearing a collar and a name tag that said “Sophie” wandered into the White House grounds.
After the cat meandered through the North Lawn on Friday morning, news reporters scooped it up and took it into the press area for safekeeping. The feline’s owner was called and went to pick it up.
This is a photo gallery curated by Associated Press photo editors.
See a bunch of photos at the site, which I haven’t reproduced because of copyright problems, but I have a video instead:

It’s a good thing she didn’t meet Trump, because he might have grabbed the pussy.

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Here’s a bookstore in Pittsburg, Kansas where cats are available for both lap-sitting and adoption. It’s a pity that the city has a population of only 21,000, The Washington Post has the tail (click on screenshot or find the article archived here):

An excerpt (I like the names):

At a bookstore in this Kansas town, three cats are on the full-time staff.

Hank, a domestic longhaired cat, is the “regional manager.” His job duties involve keeping track of the computer cursor and “sleeping in adorable positions 22 hours a day,” according to the bookstore website.

“He’s the boss of this place,” said Jennifer Mowdy, owner of the Literary Cat Co. in Pittsburg, Kansas — a bookstore that doubles as a cat lounge and feline foster home.

Scarlett Toe’Hara, a black short-haired cat, who is polydactyl — meaning she has extra toes — is the “assistant (to the) regional manager.” She is the front door guard, plant inspector and treat tester.

Mike Meowski — a domestic longhaired cat with one eye, named after Mike Wazowski in “Monster’s Inc.” — is “assistant (to the assistant to the) regional manager.” His role involves cuddling guests and quality control for boxes. Mowdy is a superfan of “The Office,” and so bestowed job titles based on the characters of Michael Scott and Dwight Schrute, respectively.

“They’re just perfect,” Mowdy said of her three-cat staff, all of which she rescued.

Mowdy opened the store in 2023 after 17 years as an educator. While teaching, Mowdy volunteered with animal rescues and fostered cats. She also loved bookstores.

“They’re much more than a place you read books,” Mowdy said. “They’re a community hub.”

She wanted to fuse her two passions.

“I decided I could do it; I could create something,” Mowdy said.

. . . There are typically about seven cats — in addition to Hank, Scarlett and Mike — who live in the bookstore as foster cats. They’re “temporary staff,” and Mowdy’s goal is for her customers to adopt them.

Oh, okay, I’ll put in a photo credited to the Literary Cat Company. Ellie is the Naughty Cat of the Week, demonstrating her perfidy:

“Her adoption rate is fabulous,” said Susan Bastion, director of the rescue network. “Having a big open space where the animals can walk around and stretch their legs and interact with the general public is huge.”

Since opening the Literary Cat Co. about a year and a half ago, 32 foster cats Mowdy has brought to the store have been adopted by her customers, and another is in the works. In some cases, people have taken home two cats at a time.
. . .The bookstore is near Pittsburg State University, so college students often bring their own books to study there and snuggle some cats.

“We’ve got lots of cozy chairs and reading nooks,” Mowdy said. “Lots of people don’t buy anything, they just come and play with the cats. That’s perfectly okay. We need to get the cats socialized, too.”

Most people who stop by the store “spend quite a bit of time,” she said. “They’ll curl up in a chair with a cat and read.”

I’d totally go there and work. What better place to read than in a quiet bookstore with cats. And if people are allergic to cats, they can go to another bookstore, though I think every bookstore should have cats.

And here’s a Tik Tok video about the place from the Good News Girl: