Cc Roams Catacombs Of City Hall Kitty Makes A Home, Calms Nerves In Higher Echelons Of Oregon Town
No doubt about it - there’s a fat cat down at City Hall.
He can often be found snoozing on a desk or flopped under the City Council bench.
But no one is complaining.
“He’s our stress-reduction specialist,” city finance officer Holly Haviland said. “If you’ve had a bad day, you pet the cat.”
Meet CC, short for City Cat.
The 12-pound, black and white kitty is a stray who wandered into City Hall nearly two years ago.
“The cat followed someone in, liked what it saw and decided to stay,” city administrator John Luthy said. “CC is kind of patterned after a soccer ball - he’s rotund.”
After the cat decided to stay, city officials checked to make sure no regulations forbade the feline’s presence.
“We haven’t found anything to say it wasn’t welcome,” Luthy said, then added, “It brings a very soothing factor to the office.”
Besides, CC doesn’t ask for much. Some dry cat food and water does the trick.
“It’s pretty independent,” Luthy said. “It goes to the door when it wants out.”
Most nights find the cat sleeping outside City Hall.
Police officers in City Hall let the cat in or out at all hours.
Independence aside, CC has had to accept some adjustments. When the cat arrived, he was a male.
“Now it’s an it,” Luthy said.
The cat has become a local celebrity who signs Christmas cards with a paw print.
“Everybody around here knows about him,” Luthy said. “Being a gentleman, CC shares attention with everyone. But it has a number of favorite places to sleep. It likes to curl up in the outgoing basket.”
When CC first showed up, it was attracted to a computer printer, believing that its job was to shred the paper, Luthy said.
“Now it leaves the paper alone,” he said. “The cat is on its best behavior now.”
“He drinks from glasses - he won’t drink from a bowl,” Haviland said.
But CC’s soothing presence balances out the mouser’s mischievous manners, she said.
“When he jumps on your lap and curls up, that makes up for it,” she said.