<html><head><meta http-equiv="content-type" content="text/html; charset=utf-8"></head><body dir="auto"><div><span></span></div><div><div><div><br></div><div>Many young adults leave home to live on campus while attending classes, visiting the library, and of course maintaining an active social presence on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram. Not all of them are human, especially on Caturday.</div></div><div><br></div><div>Courtesy of the Philadelphia Inquirer at:</div><div><br></div><div><a href="http://www.philly.com/philly/blogs/real-time/Meet-Havercat.html?utm_source=fark&utm_medium=website&utm_content=link&ICID=ref_fark">http://www.philly.com/philly/blogs/real-time/Meet-Havercat.html?utm_source=fark&utm_medium=website&utm_content=link&ICID=ref_fark</a></div><div><br></div><div>--------------------------------</div><div><br></div><div><h1 class="lead__headline" itemprop="headline" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 0.625rem; padding: 0px; font-size: 3.4375rem; line-height: 1.05; max-width: 54.375rem; letter-spacing: -0.0625rem; color: rgb(34, 34, 34); font-family: 'Gotham Narrow SSm A', 'Gotham Narrow SSm B', Arial, sans-serif;">Haverford College's library cat needs a real home</h1><p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 1.625rem; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.65; max-width: 45.5rem;"><span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">Haverford College has a resident cat — of sorts.</span></p><p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 1.625rem; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.65; max-width: 45.5rem;"><span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">A wandering feline - nicknamed HaverCat - has taken up residence in the Main Line campus library where it has charmed the staff and wormed his way into the hearts of students and faculty.</span></p><div><span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">The domestic shorthair arrived just before last Christmas when he strolled in through an open door. Final exams were in full swing and HaverCat quickly earned a reputation as the go to companion for students needing a stress buster.</span></div><div><span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);"><br></span></div></div><div><p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 1.625rem; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.65; max-width: 45.5rem;"><span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">"Every time we took him out, he got himself back in because he is clever," said Dawn Heckert, circulation services and building coordinator at Magill Library. Heckert finally put her foot down and HaverCat is now only allowed behind the circulation desk to keep him away from special collections.</span></p><p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 1.625rem; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.65; max-width: 45.5rem;"><span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">Litter and food soon appeared. A recycle box became a bed.</span></p><p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 1.625rem; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.65; max-width: 45.5rem;"><span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">Calls were placed to the number on his collar to contact his owners. The staff learned his official name is Valentino and that he was an outside cat. But Valentino was more interested in a college than his home life.</span></p><p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 1.625rem; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.65; max-width: 45.5rem;"><span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">After becoming a fixture on campus, he would wander into dorms, classrooms, and offices, making him most popular cat at the college.</span></p><p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 1.625rem; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.65; max-width: 45.5rem;"><span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">He also did his part to rid the campus of mice and the occasional baby bunny, Heckert said.</span></p><p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 1.625rem; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.65; max-width: 45.5rem;"><span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">Like any young college resident — he is about three-years-old — HaverCat has an active social presence. The tabby and white mix is found all over Twitter and has his own, <a href="https://www.instagram.com/explore/tags/havercat/" style="box-sizing: border-box; text-decoration: none; box-shadow: rgb(213, 238, 255) -2px -5px 0px -2px inset; transition: box-shadow 0.3s cubic-bezier(0.86, 0, 0.07, 1); -webkit-transition: box-shadow 0.3s cubic-bezier(0.86, 0, 0.07, 1);">Instagram</a>, <a href="https://www.facebook.com/HaverCat-1106545919355705/" style="box-sizing: border-box; text-decoration: none; box-shadow: rgb(213, 238, 255) -2px -5px 0px -2px inset; transition: box-shadow 0.3s cubic-bezier(0.86, 0, 0.07, 1); -webkit-transition: box-shadow 0.3s cubic-bezier(0.86, 0, 0.07, 1);">Facebook</a> and Yik Yak accounts.</span></p><p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 1.625rem; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.65; max-width: 45.5rem;"><span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">"He has a better social presence than I do," said Ashley Foster, a visiting assistant professor.</span></p><p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 1.625rem; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.65; max-width: 45.5rem;"><span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">But now it is time for HaverCat to graduate to a real home, Heckert said.</span></p><p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 1.625rem; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.65; max-width: 45.5rem;"><span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">About two weeks ago, the campus kitty was seriously injured.</span></p><p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 1.625rem; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.65; max-width: 45.5rem;"><span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">Heckert found the feline crying at the end of the ramp to the library. His leg was badly swollen, his tail drooped to one side. </span></p><p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 1.625rem; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.65; max-width: 45.5rem;"><span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">"He was in a lot of pain," said Heckert.</span></p><p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 1.625rem; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.65; max-width: 45.5rem;"><span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">When his previous owners did not respond to calls, the staff took HaverCat to Bryn Mawr Veterinarian for treatment, where x-rays revealed nothing was broken - just badly bruised. The veterinarian said the feline might have been hit by a car or a heavy object and that he needed to be kept confined for a few weeks to recuperate, Heckert said.</span></p><p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 1.625rem; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.65; max-width: 45.5rem;"><span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">When word got out HaverCat was hurt, students, faculty and staff all pitched in and took up a collection to cover the $300 bill.</span></p><p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 1.625rem; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.65; max-width: 45.5rem;"><span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">Foster volunteered to take him to her small on-campus apartment for the first two weeks. Another faculty member will then host him until a more permanent situation is found. </span></p><p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 1.625rem; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.65; max-width: 45.5rem;"><span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">"We are looking for the next step," said Heckert. The library staff hopes a member of the Haverford College community steps forward to formally adopt the mascot.</span></p><p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 1.625rem; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.65; max-width: 45.5rem;"><span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">"He settled in with the indoor life and enjoyed it," Heckert said. HaverCat is a very social animal so the ideal situation would be one where there was a lot of interaction with people.</span></p><p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 1.625rem; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.65; max-width: 45.5rem;"><span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">"He needs a lot of love," said Foster.</span></p><p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 1.625rem; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.65; max-width: 45.5rem;"><span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">--------------------</span></p><p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 1.625rem; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.65; max-width: 45.5rem;"><span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">Photos</span></p><p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 1.625rem; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.65; max-width: 45.5rem;"><span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);"><a href="http://www.MoscowCares.com/Caturday/Caturday_102216_01.jpg">http://www.MoscowCares.com/Caturday/Caturday_102216_01.jpg</a></span></p><p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 1.625rem; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.65; max-width: 45.5rem;"><span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);"><a href="http://www.MoscowCares.com/Caturday/Caturday_102216_02.jpg">http://www.MoscowCares.com/Caturday/Caturday_102216_02.jpg</a></span></p><p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 1.625rem; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.65; max-width: 45.5rem;"><span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);"><a href="http://www.MoscowCares.com/Caturday/Caturday_102216_03.jpg">http://www.MoscowCares.com/Caturday/Caturday_102216_03.jpg</a></span></p><p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 1.625rem; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.65; max-width: 45.5rem;"><span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);"><a href="http://www.MoscowCares.com/Caturday/Caturday_102216_04.jpg">http://www.MoscowCares.com/Caturday/Caturday_102216_04.jpg</a></span></p></div><div>--------------------------------<br><br><div><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> </div></div></div></div></body></html>