Cats at Work

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/england/kent/8021407.stm

A Kent library has been visited almost every day for two years by its own "puss in books", the council has said.

Fidel, an eight-year-old black cat, turns up at Deal library almost every day while his owners are at work.

He spends the day on his favourite blue chair, only leaving the building when he sees his owners arriving home.

Staff say they have never tried to encourage Fidel with food and even used to put him outside when he first began to visit them, but he always came back.

Heather Hilton, district manager for Deal Library, said: "Fidel certainly seems to like coming here and he's very popular with our customers.

"I think he's a bit of an art critic too because we sometimes see him examining the pictures on the gallery wall," she added.

A spokeswoman for Kent County Council which runs the library said Fidel was such a "dedicated customer" that he sometimes arrived before staff and could be found waiting at the front door.

Fidel is a rescue cat, whose owners chose him from a local sanctuary after he was found abandoned in a flat in Deal.
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http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/england/london/7098219.stm

Police at a north London railway station have got mice running scared - after recruiting a 13-year-old cat.

Tizer was adopted by British Transport Police (BTP) from the Cats Protection charity in September and inducted into the force as an honorary constable.

In his role as the Chief Mouser Pc Tizer walks around King's Cross rail station to keep it rodent-free.

An "essential member" of the team, he has unfettered access to all areas and shares an office with a senior officer.

'Playing fetch'

Insp Roy Sloane, who enlisted the tabby, said: "Pc Tizer is already an essential member of the team.

"Since we got him we haven't seen any mice in the building at all... Prior to his arrival we were spending a fortune on pest control and it wasn't really working."

Insp Sloane said he visited the charity's adoption centre in north London with the aim of finding a cat to clean up the station's rodent problem.

He met Tizer, who arrived at the centre in August after his owner died.

Insp Sloane, who shares his office with Pc Tizer, added that his feline colleague helps other officers "de-stress" and has given a boost to the force's morale.

"Everyone is always asking after him, and he is probably the most popular member of staff," he said.

Cats Protection Adoption Centre acting deputy manager Alex Davies said: "He loves being around people, and likes nothing more than playing fetch with his toy spider."