In this building, cats go from feral to ‘family’
By Caton Deuso / NYVT Media staff
At Telescope within the past few years, Marketing and Advertising Manager Kait Warren spearheaded taking care of feral cats that would hide in the factory’s boiler room.
Many cats would gather due to the warmth and shelter.
“We re-homed over 30 cats that are feral. They were kind of sneaking into the boiler room out back because it’s warm and they can hide out, and there were rodents for food,” Warren said.
She explained the process of rounding up the cats and making sure they were taken care of before they were given new homes in the area.
“We ended up capturing the cats, and we would make sure that they were fed, get them an appointment up at the vet, and they would do a quick physical on them as well as spaying them or neutering them,” she said.
As for how the cats were rehomed after they were examined by veterinarians, Warren would look to social media for local residents who might be interested in adding a furry friend to their family.
“We would use social media outlets, and knowing other people who knew what we were doing, to find homes for all of these cats,” she said.
“A lot of times, local farm owners would take them in (for their barns) knowing they were fixed and give them a good life.”
Ginger and Loey, both 3 years old, are two relatively new “family members” at Telescope.
The four-legged friends began their journey with the company on Aug. 31, 2018. They occupy spots outside more than one office in the front administration area at Telescope because they have important roles among the office staff.
The two cats were adopted from the Rutland County Humane Society after Warren helped rehome feral cats in the Granville area.
Warren got Ginger and Loey to help with a small rodent issue after the feral cats found their fur-ever homes.
“What happened really quickly as we started to hit the next cold season is, we started to realize there were rodents in the facility that we never saw before,” Warren said.
In a large factory, Telescope officials do their best to keep it a clean and safe place for people to work. With too many maintenance team members treating the rodent issue, the officials decided it was time to get a couple of cats.
“I think one was 12 weeks old and the other was 16 weeks,” Warren said about seeing Ginger and Loey for the first time.
With the addition to the Telescope family, a cat-naming contest was developed for the staff. CEO Kathy Juckett wanted to name the newcomers Nix and Orkin; however, the staff chose Ginger and Loey in honor of Warren’s great aunt and grandmother.
“They do so much for this office,” Warren said.
Sara Brown, a member of the office staff, said the cats can turn a midweek drag into a laugh-fest.
“We can be mid-work, having a busy day, and the cats will come running in full-speed through our department on a tear. We all burst out laughing every time. They’re hard not to love,” she said.
Brown said the cats definitely make the office more lively.
“We will be entering orders and answering phone calls, with a cat laying across our desk trying to steal cuddles or being mischievous and attacking our printers as the paper feeds,” she said. “We never know what they’ll be up to next. But they seem to just know when we need a pick-me-up.”