<html><head><meta http-equiv="content-type" content="text/html; charset=utf-8"></head><body dir="auto"><div><span></span></div><div><meta http-equiv="content-type" content="text/html; charset=utf-8"><div style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span></span></div><div><meta http-equiv="content-type" content="text/html; charset=utf-8"><div style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span></span></div><div><meta http-equiv="content-type" content="text/html; charset=utf-8"><div style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span></span></div><div><meta http-equiv="content-type" content="text/html; charset=utf-8"><div style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><a rel="nofollow" class="outbound_link" target="_blank" href="http://www.fark.com/goto/8206791/http://www.mnn.com/family/pets/stories/looking-to-hire-have-you-considered-a-cat" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 22px; -webkit-text-size-adjust: none; text-decoration: none; height: 38px; vertical-align: middle; display: block !important;"><font color="#000000" face="UICTFontTextStyleBody" size="3"><span style="line-height: normal; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">I see your previous jobs included mouse catcher, box inspector and couch shredder? </span></font></a><a rel="nofollow" class="outbound_link" target="_blank" href="http://www.fark.com/goto/8206791/http://www.mnn.com/family/pets/stories/looking-to-hire-have-you-considered-a-cat" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 22px; -webkit-text-size-adjust: none; text-decoration: none; height: 38px; vertical-align: middle; display: block !important;"><font color="#000000" face="UICTFontTextStyleBody" size="3"><span style="line-height: normal; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">You're hired. You can start on Caturday</span></font></a></div><div style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><br></div><div style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;">Courtesy of the Mother Nature Network at:</div><div style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><br></div><div><span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><a href="http://www.mnn.com/family/pets/stories/looking-to-hire-have-you-considered-a-cat">http://www.mnn.com/family/pets/stories/looking-to-hire-have-you-considered-a-cat</a></span></div><div style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><br></div><div style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;">-----------------------------------</div><div style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><br></div><div style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><div style="box-sizing: border-box;"><h1 style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; font-weight: normal; -webkit-text-size-adjust: 100%; line-height: 1.2; font-size: 2.16667rem; font-family: Georgia, sans-serif; color: rgb(21, 111, 20);">Looking to hire? Have you considered a cat?</h1></div><div style="box-sizing: border-box;"><span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);"><br></span></div><div style="box-sizing: border-box;"><span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">A new SPCA program wants to get more cats out of shelters and into businesses and office spaces.</span></div><div style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; box-sizing: border-box;"><span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);"><br></span></div><div style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; box-sizing: border-box;"><img src="cid:E79C0493-4873-46DB-A19E-913B7CD9113F" alt="office-cat.jpg" id="E79C0493-4873-46DB-A19E-913B7CD9113F" width="640" height="361"></div><div style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; box-sizing: border-box;"><span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);"><br></span></div><div style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; box-sizing: border-box;"><span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">The Great Plains SPCA has found a solution to the influx of kittens during spring months: Put them to work.</span></div><div style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; box-sizing: border-box;"><span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);"> </span></div><div style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; box-sizing: border-box;"><span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">The animal welfare organization is launching a new program in hopes of getting more shelter <a href="http://www.mnn.com/family/pets/stories/yes-your-cat-is-ignoring-you" style="box-sizing: border-box; text-decoration: none;">cats</a> into offices and businesses.</span></div><div style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; box-sizing: border-box;"><span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);"> </span></div><div style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; box-sizing: border-box;"><span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">Several local businesses in Lawrence, Kan., keep cats in their stores, and the felines have received positive "purrformance" reviews.</span></div><div style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; box-sizing: border-box;"><span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);"> </span></div><div style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; box-sizing: border-box;"><span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">"The cats are the best co-workers I could have had," Chip Badley, a clerk at the Raven Bookstore, told <a href="http://www.kctv5.com/story/25061757/program-hopes-to-turn-shelter-cats-into-office-cats" rel="nofollow" style="box-sizing: border-box; text-decoration: none;">KCTV News</a>. "You come in and you get to have your cat fix for four or five hours a day."</span></div><div style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; box-sizing: border-box;"><span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);"> </span></div><div style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; box-sizing: border-box;"><span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">The Raven Bookstore has two cats, Ngaio and Dashiell, who were named after authors Ngaio Marsh and Dashiell Hammett.</span></div><div style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; box-sizing: border-box;"><span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);"> </span></div><div style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; box-sizing: border-box;"><span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">Badley said the cats not only attract customers, but they have also become mascots for the shop, which sells postcards and other merchandise with pictures of the bookish felines.</span></div><div style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; box-sizing: border-box;"><span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);"> </span></div><div style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; box-sizing: border-box;"><span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">Shelters often become overcrowded during spring, and the SPCA hopes that allowing workplaces to adopt or foster cats could relieve some of the stress.</span></div><div style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; box-sizing: border-box;"><span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);"> </span></div><div style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; box-sizing: border-box;"><span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">"Shelters get flooded with pets who just need a place to go," said Courtney Thomas, director of the Great Plains SPCA. "What better way to do that than to get businesses involved?"</span></div><div style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; box-sizing: border-box;"><span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);"> </span></div><div style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; box-sizing: border-box;"><span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">The organization is currently reaching out to businesses about adopting office cats and has even offered to pay for food, toys and other expenses.</span></div><div style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; box-sizing: border-box;"><span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);"> </span></div><div style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; box-sizing: border-box;"><span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">The SPCA hopes that having cats in the workplace will help people realize they make great pets and lead to more shelter cats being adopted.</span></div><div style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; box-sizing: border-box;"><span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);"> </span></div><div style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; box-sizing: border-box;"><span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">These cuddly co-workers might also boost productivity. Research shows that looking at cute animal photos can improve <a href="http://www.mnn.com/earth-matters/animals/stories/why-your-boss-should-let-you-look-at-cute-animal-pictures-while-on-the" style="box-sizing: border-box; text-decoration: none;">work performance</a>.</span></div><div style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; box-sizing: border-box;"><span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);"> </span></div><div style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; box-sizing: border-box;"><span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">Cats could also be good for employee <a href="http://www.mnn.com/family/pets/stories/10-ways-owning-a-pet-benefits-your-health" style="box-sizing: border-box; text-decoration: none;">health</a> — at least for those workers who aren’t allergic to them. Studies show the animals lower blood pressure and lower the risk of strokes and heart attacks.</span></div><div style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; box-sizing: border-box;"><span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);"> </span></div><div style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; box-sizing: border-box;"><span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">"It's a great way for people to enjoy the benefits of companionship while they're at work," Thomas said.</span></div><div style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; box-sizing: border-box;"><span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);"> </span></div><div style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; box-sizing: border-box;"><span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">But cats do have their disadvantages.</span></div><div style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; box-sizing: border-box;"><span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);"> </span></div><div style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; box-sizing: border-box;"><span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">"Sometimes the cats get a little feisty and decide they want to become cashiers and step on the keyboard or get in the way of customers," Badley said.</span></div><div style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; box-sizing: border-box;"><span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);"> </span></div><div style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; box-sizing: border-box;"><span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">Franklin Fantini, an employee of Love Garden, a nearby Kansas record store, says the shop's two cats, Mickey and Sam, are known to get up to mischief and leave the occasional <a href="http://www.mnn.com/family/pets/stories/green-cleaning-tips-for-cat-urine" style="box-sizing: border-box; text-decoration: none;">mess</a>.</span></div><div style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; box-sizing: border-box;"><span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);"> </span></div><div style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; box-sizing: border-box;"><span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">Still, he says they're a big draw for customers and they're worth the little trouble they cause.</span></div><div style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; box-sizing: border-box;"><span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);"> </span></div><div style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; box-sizing: border-box;"><span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">"I think animals make people better," he said. "It changes the store. They make it more of a calming place."</span></div><div style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; box-sizing: border-box;"><span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><br></span></div><div style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; box-sizing: border-box;"><span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;">-----------------------------------</span></div></div><div style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><br><div><span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">Seeya 'round town, Moscow, because . . .</span></div><div><span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);"><br></span></div><div><span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">"Moscow Cares" (the most fun you can have with your pants on)</span></div><div><a href="http://www.moscowcares.com/" style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);"><font color="#000000">http://www.MoscowCares.com</font></a></div><div><span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);"> </span></div><div><div><span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">Tom Hansen</span></div><div><span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">Moscow, Idaho</span></div></div><div><span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);"> </span></div><div> </div></div></div></div></div></div></body></html>