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Nyx’s blog moved from one hosting service to another in late May 2010. Previous posts are collected here and are also available on her Facebook page.

All wet and counter top adventures

This weekend Nyx was traipsing along the side of the tub while Ann was partially submerged. Nyx is really surefooted but took a dive into the tub. She came out quickly – smelling like Kiss My Face Anti Stress Shower Gel and Foaming Bath (a calming mixture of lavender, rosemary, yarrow and more). She was fairly calm about her exit and the whole experience.

She has also achieved kitchen counter, via the recycling bins and the stainless-steel garbage can. The garbage can will be relocated to foil further forays. Mike was a tad peevish that she bobbled off with some of his bacon slices during one of her recent countertop adventures.

WWW Wake by Robert J. Sawyer

Nyx is a big fan of Caitlin Decter, the blind calculass at the heart of Robert J. Sawyer’s WWW series. She suggests that you friend Caitlin on Facebook and check out her Calculass Zone. Nyx is looking forward to WWW Watch in April 2010.

Balancing Acts II

An update from Ann: Nyx thinks I’ve been remiss in keeping y’all up to date. As usual, she is right. She has been on the job for a year now! She enjoys throwing things off my desk (assorted pens, air freshener, hand cream, cat nip container, paper holder – to mention a few items). She now has a water fountain that pleases her very much. If it isn’t turned on, she sits next to it and faces at us (she doesn’t stare at us for obvious reasons) her people until we comply with her wishes.

She was startled today by my Cheerwine soda – the fizz flummoxed her and required investigation which she pursued with some trepidation and a few armadillo style fear leaps. Then she wanted to knock the bottle off the desk but was foiled.

Lately she has been very attached to her catbag on my desk and an old chair covered with pink throws. She spent part of today balancing on the back of the chair.

Let her not eat cake

This morning Nyx ate a spider and whisker swiffered under a table. The spider dust was cleaned off her whiskers and she milled around the office area looking for more trouble/excitement. (still coming down from the mouse hunt?)

Ann went to take invoices to the Admin department. Nyx decided she needed dessert and that the slice of peach/blueberry pound cake Ann had brought for lunch smelled great. She retrieved the cake from Ann’s bag, unwrapped the cake slice and threw the wrapper on the floor. And enjoyed nice bit of cake. Ann was peevish, but was consoled with cake that co-workers made as part of a cake decorating class.

Mouse Hunt!

My enemy’s enemy is my friend – in action this weekend. Nina Zero and Nyx are not friends. But they banded together whisker to whisker and paw to paw to go after a mouse that was lurking under the electronic heater panel in Ann & Mike’s den. They were happily occupied for hours and successful in their mouse hunt. Mike removed the victim from under the den table. Nyx spent the rest of the weekend prowling the den, in hope of more mousie action. Nyx is currently crashed out in the office next to the llama puppet. (see picture below)

Sookie the lurcher dog was outside while all this was going on, Sooks and Burke the beagle/weiner dog had their own mouse hunt earlier in the week. Sooks found a mouse in the bedroom, presented it to Ann on the bed and lost the mouse in the chaos that followed. This mouse was later retrieved (alive) in the bathtub and deposited outside.

Weekends

Nyx loves weekends. She spends weekends with Ann & Mike. She makes herself very comfortable but makes all the other animals very uncomfortable. This might change if she’d stop chasing the cats up and down the stairs. Or if she would refrain from trying to take dog biscuits away from Burke and Sookie.

Nyx has issues with Mondays, and has to be chased down and captured to get her to work. She knows the concept of under (hiding under things) but fortunately she usually chooses to “hide” under a table. She seems to be convinced she is invisible and is stunned when Ann chases her down. Once nabbed,

Whiskers

Nyx has very long whiskers. We measured them today and they are over 3.5 inches long.

Balancing Acts

Nyx knows few boundaries. She rides on library carts, trys to escape from the Collection Management office area and generally rules the roost. While blind since birth, she has minimal problems getting around and has been known to chase her people around the office.

Mental Floss – Library Cats

Miss Cellania @Mental Floss – Where Knowledge Junkies Get Their Fix blogged about 8 library cats:

Libraries are wonderful places for people who love books, and wonderful places for cats to meet book lovers. There are an estimated 808 documented library cats, including 301 cats who currently reside in libraries around the world. Here are just a few.

http://www.mentalfloss.com/blogs/archives/26082

Nyx is one of the few who made the list of 8!

The Unfortunate String Cheese Incident

Nyx has been a little under the weather and out of sorts.

In the recent past her people have bragged about what a neat library cat she is – no hairballs, no unpleasant tummy upsets… well, last week she had a series of unfortunate events (one involving a bit of string cheese she had successfully lobbied Ann for). Turns out her cat food was recalled and that may have been the source of her tummy woes.

She also had an infection. Seems unfair that a cat with no eyeballs should suffer from infected tear duct glands (and a runny nose). She visited with Dr. Jordan at Town & Country Vet Clinic and took her medicine with only a little fussing. We plan to keep an eye on her tear ducts and restrict her access to string cheese.

Ginger’s dad is great…

Ginger’s father made a box like this for Loki (Ginger’s house cat). He then kindly made one for Nyx, which has been a big hit. She plays in and on the box and often drags her toys into the box for safe keeping. The box also provides a way to get to library carts and other cat sitting areas.

British Blues

We strongly suspect Nyx has a more than a bit of British Blue in her kitty genes. She is a pastel or dilute calico, with a sturdy build and a plush coat (which sprouts cowlicks even after furmination). She is smart, likes attention, and appreciates being close to her people (ok, she stalks Ann and sometimes the house cats on weekends). She learns small tricks on her own (sometimes we call her circus cat). Nyx’s paws look very Blueish. And she would like it noted that she is supposed to have a heavy build and strong bone structure and that she is *not* chubby but cobby. This could change unless we continue to be brutal about limiting her access to people food (she loves naan, wasabi seaweed snacks, cheese, bread, sweets, etc.) She is very food motivated…

The British Blue breed may have originated in Roman times – so perhaps we should have gone with the Roman version of her name (Nox) rather than the Greek.

Notable fictional Blues include: The Cheshire Cat, Greebo (Terry Pratchett/Discworld) and Winston Churchill (Pet Sematary) were blue based.

More information: Wikipedia | CFA

More library cats

The Library Cats Map’s data derives from Iron Frog Productions’ research for the award-winning documentary film, Puss in Books: Adventures of the Library Cat. Check out the Library Cats Map – Nyx hopes to be added in the near future: http://www.ironfrog.com/catsmap.html

Ocean Shores Library: http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/books/2008700789_librarycats03m.html

Library cats: http://www.americanprofile.com/article/3897.html

Max: http://www.ci.pasadena.ca.us/librarykids/meetmax.asp

Oreo: http://www.hennessey.lib.ok.us/OreoIndex.htm

Cazenovia Cats: http://www.midyork.org/CAZENOVIA/cats.html

Squeakers, Wesleyan’s Library Cat

1985 – 2008 http://www.wesleyancollege.edu/Academics/Library/LibraryCat/tabid/184/Default.aspx

Ernster, virtual library cat: http://deanelawlibrary.blogspot.com/

A British library cat

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

Fidel is pretty cool.

Probation

Nyx has been on the job for six months now, and has passed the first probationary stage with flying colors. She is now angling for a promotion, or at least more kitty treats.

Where’s that Phish cd? (thanks, Teresa)

Nyx helped check in recent music orders from Midwest Tapes.

She loves library carts and is sometimes given rides.

Early Word

Nyx was very honored to be a Friday Treat on Early Words today. She thinks she is a treat everyday, but she appreciated Nora Rawlinson’s note about her recent treats from Talia. She is lobbying hard for a bit of Ann’s cheese sandwich as another Friday treat …

Meet Nyx

Nyx (Greek Goddess of the Night) is about six months old (Nov 08)

Nyx was born blind and was fostered by the Henrico Humane Society who paid for her eye surgery. Ann the Overbooked and the CM staff adopted her and she started work on October 20, 2008. She is an active member of the CCPL Collection Management team. Her duties include providing stress relief and team building.

She is a special needs kitty, but only because she is special and we have come to need her. Nyx is fearless, fun and has a turbo powered purr that almost never stops.

Nyx has sussed out the office area and settled in to enjoy herself. A professional cushion and cream cat, she mingles with staff but doesn’t interfere with the department’s work flow. Her favorite spot is her cat condo which is located in a prime sunny spot.

Playlist #1

Everybody Wants To Be a Cat – Psapp

The Lovecats – The Cure | Tricky

All Cats are Grey – The Cure

Track of the Cat – Pram

Leave My Kitten Alone – The Detroit Cobras

Honky Cat – Elton John

Black Cat – Janet Jackson

The Year of the Cat – Al Stewart

The Girl With No Eyes – Its a Beautiful Day

Nyx: Book Picks

Suggested Reading for cats and those who love them…

Fiction

The Company of Cats by Marion Babson
A Dance for Emilia by Peter S. Beagle
Gigi and the Cat by Colette
Alias the Cat by Kim Deitch
The Book of Night with Moon by Diane Duane
The Abandoned by Paul Gallico
Thomasina, the Cat Who Thought She Was God by Paul Gallico
Summon the Keeper by Tanya Huff
Fudoki by Kij Johnson
The Wild Road by Gabriel King
Reserved for the Cat by Mercedes Lackey
The Cat Who Came In from the Cold by Jeffrey Mossaieff Masson
Samurai Cat by Mark E. Rogers
The Fur Person by May Sarton
The Autobiography of Foundini M. Cat by Susan Fromberg Shaeffer
The Rabbi’s Cat by Joann Sfar
Tailchaser’s Song by Tad Williams

Nonfiction

All My Patients are Under the Bed by Louis J. Camuti with Marilyn and Haskel Frankel
The Cat Who Went to Paris by Peter Gethers
The Cat Who Went Abroad by Peter Gethers
James Herriot’s Cat Stories by James Herriot
The Nine Emotional Lives of Cats: A Journey into the Feline Heart by Jeffrey Moussaieff Masson
A Snowflake in My Hand by Samantha Mooney
My Cat Spit McGee by Willie Morris
Dewey: The Small Town Library Cat Who Touched the World by Vicki Myron and Bret Witter
The Tribe of the Tiger: Cats and Their Culture by Elizabeth Marshall Thomas
The Cat Who Covered the World: the Adventures of Henrietta and Her Foreign Correspondent by Christopher S. Wren