What Do You Think About "office" Cats?

She's a witch

TCS Member
Top Cat
Joined
Feb 21, 2018
Messages
1,780
Purraise
2,371
Location
Europe/WA, USA
I can vote partial “no”, playing devil’s advocate :) I believe every cat should have a home and warm bed with a human to sleep in. But of course, if we’re talking about alternative: shelter vs office, I think it’s a great idea. Provided the cat will not loose the opportunity to get adopted. Hopefully someone on the office would fall in love with it!
 

tarasgirl06

TCS Member
Top Cat
Joined
Sep 19, 2006
Messages
24,708
Purraise
64,890
Location
Glendale, CATifornia
Here in New York City, we have lots of deli/bodega cats. The regular shoppers in the neighborhood get to know and love them, and they keep mice/rats/cockroaches away from the food. Of course, the health department doesn't approve, but I'll take a cat over vermin any day!

(If you've seen Russian Doll on netflix, the deli cat in that show is pretty representative).
The health department are idiots. Cats are the cleanest beings on earth -- far cleaner than humans! -- and they keep their environments very clean and safe.
 
  • Thread Starter Thread Starter
  • #24

lavishsqualor

TCS Member
Thread starter
Top Cat
Joined
Apr 27, 2015
Messages
1,954
Purraise
3,150
If we’re talking about alternative: shelter vs office, I think it’s a great idea. Provided the cat will not loose the opportunity to get adopted.
It's definitely a shelter vs. office situation for a lot of these cats. You'd be shocked at the number of people who pass away on some of our senior communities and next of kin will say, "Oh, just put her/his cat outside; it'll be okay." Our first office cat, Emily, who is now firmly ensconced in her new home/office, was in that situation.

She's only about a year or so old and had never been fixed so we took care of that. She has the sweetest, most docile and kind personality I've ever seen in a cat. She lets me brush her teeth with no fuss, and when I had to give her a pill she practically took it in her paw, popped it in her mouth and swallowed! Well, not really, but she was really easy to pill, and she purrs non-stop. People don't seem to bother her and she just lays on the office sofa napping most of the day. I honestly hated to say goodbye to her today but I had to get back to Orlando.

PS: None of these pictures do justice to her eyes. They are emerald emerald green and so beautiful in her tiny face!
 

Attachments

Last edited:

tarasgirl06

TCS Member
Top Cat
Joined
Sep 19, 2006
Messages
24,708
Purraise
64,890
Location
Glendale, CATifornia
It's definitely a shelter vs. office situation for a lot of these cats. You'd be shocked at the number of people who pass away on some of our senior communities and next of kin will say, "Oh, just put her/his cat outside; it'll be okay." Our first office cat, Emily, who is now firmly ensconced in her new home/office, was in that situation.

She's only about a year or so old and had never been fixed so we took care of that. She has the sweetest, most docile and kind personality I've ever seen in a cat. She lets me brush her teeth with no fuss, and when I had to give her a pill she practically took it in her paw, popped it in her mouth and swallowed! Well, not really, but she was really easy to pill, and she purrs non-stop. People don't seem to bother her and she just lays on the office sofa napping most of the day. I honestly hated to say goodbye to her today but I had to get back to Orlando.

PS: None of these pictures do justice to her eyes. They are emerald emerald green and so beautiful in her tiny face!
Emily is beautiful and her name fits her exactly!
I've NEVER been able to fathom people's ignorance about cats. It's not as if cats haven't been a part of most cultures for millenia, or at least a long, long time! I heard someone say that cats can "take care of themselves" living outdoors with no human involvement whatsoever. I tried to educate that person.
 

PushPurrCatPaws

TCS Member
Top Cat
Joined
May 22, 2015
Messages
10,061
Purraise
10,250
Definitely an idea that has its merits, but I'd be worried about the cat(s) during the off-hours (like 6pm - 9am, etc., when humans aren't around). Would you have a camera in the office to have someone visibly eyeball the cats at night (or videotape them), in case any of the (senior) cats were having any issues, like getting sick/vomiting (for example) behind a shelving unit or box -- a spot not normally noticed during the daytime hours? I guess I'd just assume that health issues in seniors is likely, so I'd want to be observant about that. :redheartpump:
 

tarasgirl06

TCS Member
Top Cat
Joined
Sep 19, 2006
Messages
24,708
Purraise
64,890
Location
Glendale, CATifornia
Definitely an idea that has its merits, but I'd be worried about the cat(s) during the off-hours (like 6pm - 9am, etc., when humans aren't around). Would you have a camera in the office to have someone visibly eyeball the cats at night (or videotape them), in case any of the (senior) cats were having any issues, like getting sick/vomiting (for example) behind a shelving unit or box -- a spot not normally noticed during the daytime hours? I guess I'd just assume that health issues in seniors is likely, so I'd want to be observant about that. :redheartpump:
Excellent suggestion about the cameras, which are very prevalent and don't cost a lot to buy, depending on what you get.
 
  • Thread Starter Thread Starter
  • #29

lavishsqualor

TCS Member
Thread starter
Top Cat
Joined
Apr 27, 2015
Messages
1,954
Purraise
3,150
Hi Everyone!

I wanted to share a few current photos of Emily, my company's first office cat. We're now up to twelve! I know I'm totally biased but I honestly think that Emily is one of the most beautiful cats I've ever seen. Her green eyes are like nothing I've ever seen before.

Emily One.jpg
Emily Two.jpg
Emily Three.jpg
 

Quacksdoctor

TCS Member
Kitten
Joined
Nov 20, 2019
Messages
9
Purraise
14
It's an excellent idea for senior cats. It's too bad people who dump cats off somewhere or leave them at the SPCA, don't know about your office. How many other places which may be bigger than where you are, could do the same thing? The "business" I asked to help feed feral cats after TNR, flatly refused. What about buildings that will never be opened again, due to the economically depressed areas everywhere, that could be moderately retrofitted for feral cats? Your abandoned obsolete warehouses? Places with a large property outside could help with even a mediocre outside feral cat facility, igloos with bedding straw, and later reflective foam wrap, or board, in the winter time, would be better that anything else. It depends on the location. The good thing is that, even skipping weekends, there would be people around to check cat food and water.
 

ArtNJ

TCS Member
Top Cat
Joined
Jun 1, 2017
Messages
5,485
Purraise
6,957
You have 12 cats in what kind of office? Just saying, thats a lot!

Only issue I see is that it might be hard to cat proof a large multi-person office and keep it cat proofed. Rubber bands can be deadly for example. Sooner or later someone would leave something dangerous out most likely because if you get enough people together, one of them will surely do something dumb. Like Phil, who left his window open before a blizzard. Pipes in his ceiling froze and cracked and we had a little flood when we came back.

But yes, I lived in NYC too, and there and elsewhere I've seen many businesses with cats. They seem unbothered by people and happy, if sometimes a bit put out if there are a lot of interested children around.
 

ArtNJ

TCS Member
Top Cat
Joined
Jun 1, 2017
Messages
5,485
Purraise
6,957
Oh yes I see, I re-read the original post. Property management offices in different buildings, got it.

Thinking about it, TBH I'm less wild about a business owner having an office cat policy for offices in which he doesn't work. Allowing it is one thing, but if you make it mandatory you are going to get some schmuks that dont really like or know how to take care of cats. No? Happy to be wrong.
 

tarasgirl06

TCS Member
Top Cat
Joined
Sep 19, 2006
Messages
24,708
Purraise
64,890
Location
Glendale, CATifornia

tarasgirl06

TCS Member
Top Cat
Joined
Sep 19, 2006
Messages
24,708
Purraise
64,890
Location
Glendale, CATifornia
Oh yes I see, I re-read the original post. Property management offices in different buildings, got it.

Thinking about it, TBH I'm less wild about a business owner having an office cat policy for offices in which he doesn't work. Allowing it is one thing, but if you make it mandatory you are going to get some schmuks that dont really like or know how to take care of cats. No? Happy to be wrong.
Those should be fired.
 

Jcatbird

TCS Member
Top Cat
Joined
Dec 5, 2017
Messages
10,301
Purraise
58,378
Location
United States
I think the positive on this outweighs any negative. Will more lives be saved in this effort or lost? I think saved. There is a risk with any cat going to any home, shelter, rescue etc. but the hope is that the environment is prepared and secured. If all checks out then the cat will not be eunthanized or dumped outside. There will always be the possibility of a careless human, that’s something an office manager should check before shutting the office for the night anyway. There will always be one person without respect for the life of a cat. As someone who was an employer, the moment I discovered such a huge flaw in a human, they would have found themselves unemployed as I would have viewed them as immoral and untrustworthy. I do understand some people are scared of cats so that might mean they get the back office. I would hope that exposure would provide an education that would help them to overcome the fear. Caress are already installed in many offices so having the cat monitored is a plus. Many shelters and even vet offices leave cats unattended during certain times. I would say a purrfect office would have an alarm system too but if we look at many homes that adore their fur babies, not every moment is obsevered in the best homes. I think having office cats will save a great many lives and educate many humans. I suspect it may be good therapy for the humans as well. For those with allergies, maybe an air purifier and kitty free zone could be provided if it is needed.
 
  • Thread Starter Thread Starter
  • #40

lavishsqualor

TCS Member
Thread starter
Top Cat
Joined
Apr 27, 2015
Messages
1,954
Purraise
3,150
The "business" I asked to help feed feral cats after TNR, flatly refused. What about buildings that will never be opened again, due to the economically depressed areas everywhere, that could be moderately retrofitted for feral cats? Your abandoned obsolete warehouses? Places with a large property outside could help with even a mediocre outside feral cat facility, igloos with bedding straw, and later reflective foam wrap, or board, in the winter time, would be better that anything else.
You and I think very much alike. I'm a regional manager for a large property management company in Florida and I am infinitely lucky that they support my TNR efforts and feral colonies. Truthfully, they most likely do so because it keeps the feral/stray population down on their properties; however, I don't care what their rationale is. The cats are my only concern. My management company has allowed me to develop a 501(c)(3) and they contribute a lot of money to it for the upkeep of the cats on the properties in my portfolio. I'm happy to say, too, that TNR is becoming mandatory on ALL properties in my company as of January 1, 2020. I feel a real sense of pride because I know this is due to the success I've had with my properties.

As for the Office Cat Program . . . I haven't made it mandatory which I would hope would weed out any one who would be negligent. Most of the cats in the program come from residents who have moved out and left their cats behind. A good many have also been abandoned kittens. The program has been a H U G E success and Emily was featured on the cover of our company's October newsletter. Her "cover shot" is below.

I've never seen a cat so docile and accepting of people. Instead of running and hiding she greets every single person who walks through the door! Interestingly enough there have been a few who were "allergic" or scared of cats but when your complexes all have at least a year's wait-list, the loss of those few isn't a concern.

EMILY.jpg
 
Last edited:
Top