The Scottish Fold.

Every day Stanley was transported to and from work in order to feed and potty him regularly.  Fortunately, the director was pet conscious.  Diane Koditek occasionally brought her whippets to work, so me bringing an abandoned kitten to work in order to feed and potty him every couple of hours until he was self sufficient was okay.  I’m sure she knew this kitten was in the building.

One day, the chief financial officer, Marvin Felli, heard Stanley in my office and stopped by.  In his off hours, Marvin was a deputy sheriff.  I thought for sure he would quote some obscure county regulation about animals at work when I showed him this kitten running amok in my office with a few toys here and there.  Marvin’s comment was surprisingly sweet.  He said, “His markings are symmetric.”  Then he smiled and continued on through the doors to the elevator.

It’s true.  Stanley’s markings are fairly symmetric.  This tough appearing deputy sheriff masquerading as a chief financial officer was a caring person at heart.  And, come to find out later, he had a great sense of humor.  I discovered this when I was in my Camaro waiting for the light to change as I headed to another county site across town and noticed an officer in a sheriff’s car who had pulled up beside me motioning me to roll down my window.  As I compiled, I noticed it was Marvin.  He hollered over something about going a little too fast . . . I laughed as I waved and started moving with the traffic as the light changed knowing I had been going the speed limit – at least during that block previous to the light. 

Everyone in the office was used to Stanley.  He had free reign of the first floor office area.  When I was in a meeting and he started mewing loudly, I would be paged and told Stanley needed something.  That something was either bottle feeding or pottying.  He definitely let us know when he wanted something and still does today, though he isn’t a noisy cat.

As he got older and could stay home, I was frequently asked to bring him in to visit.  He was used to traveling in the car, so bringing him in was no big deal.  I had a “port-a-potty” made from a large tuperware container filled with cat litter, a couple of toys at work along with a small food supply and water container.  I would bring him in with me in the morning, take him around to visit everyone, tend to business while he played in my office, then take him home at lunchtime. 

A couple of staff are still there and ask about Stanley.  Valerie Touchstone has photographs of Stanley in her work area. 

So, you can see that Stanley the Scottish Fold, made quite an impression as he spent his first few months of life at work.