Calling the Shots, by Cauli Le Chat, MPL Roving Reporter

In late November, 2010, when I first stumbled upon Mooresville Public Library, in Mooresville, Indiana--cold, hungry, and friendless (moi, not the library)--I doubted whether I would ever again see three squares a day, warm blankets, perpetually-filled snack bowls, and the obligatory fake fur mouse that rattles.  But I had unknowingly selected an ideal location from which to scavenge.  There were numerous windbreaks with plentiful shrubbery, which kept the Wicked Wind of the West from chilling moi to the bone.  More importantly, however, there were kind humans willing to feed and shelter moi, free-of-charge--as is not only customary, but obligatory, for members of the feline fraternity--and, to boot, a regular gig working as a roving reporter for the library.

This is how my temporary digs looked on July 12, 2008, when the library dedicated an outdoor children's garden (the "kinder garden"--cute, eh?).  When I took up occupancy in late November, 2010, I was living next to the wall behind the rocks, where the Wicked Wind of the West could not reach, and the nasty Rain and Snow Beasties could not torment moi.  There was quite a bit of snow on the ground, too, but Boss Lady said to use this photograph.

Things were looking mighty bleak, I don't mind telling you.  Four-legged food was in terribly short supply, due to the below-freezing temperatures and arctic landscape.  Dumpster diving is for chumps, but a hungry feline is a motivated feline, so I packed away my pride and searched some trash for edibles.  The smell was off-putting, to say the least, but there were a few goodies left over from happy meals.

Still, pickings were slim, and I was walking the one-way road to hungrytown (not to be confused with the great band by the same name) when a library couple (humans can be useful) "found" moi--a typically human interpretation, since I knew where I was all along, so I was hardly lost--and, more to the point, fed moi some tasty portions.  This continued for about a week, until the couple spirited moi away to an abode in a Hrududu (to borrow the word for car from the Lapine Language--you should read the children's novel Watership Down, by Richard Adams, to learn more about this)--and a new, happier existence.  I would show you a photograph of my new digs, but Kindly Couple can't use a digital camera to save your life.

Kindly Couple told moi that Boss Lady would let moi "volunteer" to be the library's roving reporter if (1) I didn't live at the library, and (2) I steered clear of the dumpster.  For moi, this is a real job, with benefits (three daily squares, warm sleeping quarters, fake furry mice everywhere), so you shall be reading more of my insightful and witty feline perceptions in future blogs.  Lots of libraries have resident cats, but MPL has a star reporter, pounding the four-legged beat to bring you the latest headlines.

I call the blog Cat's Eye View, but it's subtitled Calling the Shots, since I decide what and when to write (I am a feline, after all).  My name is Cauli Le Chat, so it's a triple entendre.  (You need to know French pronunciation to get the first part of the joke.  Plus, I "chat" in a blog, see?)  Clever, eh?  Yeah, I'm French (hence all the mois) and a former boxer, as you can see from my bum ear.  That happened when I took a cheap shot from a neighborhood Tom who was trying to muscle-in on my din-dins.  So I got a cauliflower ear, and, hence, the moniker Kit Cauliflower.  If you think the ear looks bad, you should see the Tom.  I let him have "what for," you can rest assured.

I hope you follow my blog.  I will have lots of interesting observations.  I always do.

Cauli Le Chat

MPL Roving Reporter

Four-Legged News Beat