Ever heard of library cats? There are more than you think

It doesn't seem so strange that cats are welcomed with open arms in libraries. They are generally quiet animals who like a calm, peaceful environment. Libraries can also benefit from having a cat or two on their bookshelves, and who wouldn't love some friendly whiskers at work?!

“It isn’t a real library without a tabby cat.” This sentence can be read in a 2007 National Geographic article. So the link between cats and libraries is far from new, and it is also a widespread phenomenon. In the aforementioned article, the fact that they are such frequent visitors to libraries is linked to the cats’ superior rodent control abilities. This is supported by sources that trace the origins of the cat-library symbiosis back to the Middle Ages, to monasteries and the monks who lived there. But nowadays there may be other reasons for the relative popularity of library cats.

Famous library cats

.Cats are basically calm creatures who, although excellent hunters, like to spend most of their day relaxing. They are therefore perfectly suited to a calm, quiet environment, say, to a library. Library cats are so common that you can read about them on Wikipedia. There are said to be over 800 registered cats worldwide (including those who have sadly passed away), but the number is probably much higher. You can read about many of them, but we have chosen three library cats’ stories at random.

They also inspired writers

“Library Cat” was a frequent visitor to the University of Edinburgh Library. Although the black and white spotted whisker was not the friendliest of cats, he was loved by many. So much so that he even inspired a book.  He became the main character in Alex Howar’s book “Library Cat-The Observations of a Thinking Cat”.

Perhaps the best-known library cat is Dewey, who was a resident of the library in the small Iowa town of Spencer. This red cat defied all the negative stereotypes surrounding cats, or more specifically red cats. He captured the heart of everyone who knew him or who read the book about him, “Dewey: The Small-Town Cat Who Touched The World”.

Kuzya found his place in the Russian port city of Novorossiysk in 2012. To be even more precise, he won the heart of the staff at the library there, who even took on the paperwork to get the cat there. The kitten was appointed a library assistant, and a bow tie showed his title.

Hungarian library cats

Despite the popularity of library cats, there are fewer cats in library positions in this country. Cats are often found lurking around libraries in various universities, some with names, but it is not so common for them to have access to the library. But that doesn’t mean that there are no whiskers who would live in a library. An example is Mese, the resident cat of the Gárdonyi Géza Library, who took over the library cat post in 2017 from her predecessor Mása, who passed away about 4 months before their arrival.

Masha was much loved by visitors and became a legend, leaving a big void. The new tabby was chosen mainly because they looked very much like Mása. It turns out that, although very different in personality, they are well suited to the position of a library cat. They are friendly, caring, not afraid of children and give lots of love to everyone who comes to the library.

In them a fairy from a tale has arrived in the library. At first we weren’t sure, because apart from the fact that they looked very much like Mása, we didn’t really know anything about them… Of course, the staff at the HEROSZ Animal Shelter told us that they were a nice cat, but obviously we got to know each other living together. And we really didn’t expect that. As soon as we brought them in, they took possession of the library within the first half hour and behaved as if they had been born here.

– said to the Fehérvár Media Centre Erika Iszkádi, the then director of the library

Although Mese was added to the library 7 years ago, we have not been able to find an up-to-date status report. Let’s hope they are still walking among the books, keeping library staff and visitors happy.