Rescued kitten lands in familiar arms

(Photo submitted) Rescued from this week's snows, this four-month-old kitten has found a new home with former Spencer Public Library Director Vicki Myron, known worldwide for her book, "Dewey: The Small-Town Library Cat Who Touched the World," upcoming movie and children's books about the library's former resident cat, Dewey Readmore Books.

"But when I got up close, I saw that it was a little kitty covered with snow. So I pulled in at the little parking lot in front of Nelson Hearing Aid, jumped out and ... he let me pick him up," she said.

Selzer took the kitten, estimated to be about four months old, to her office in the Spencer Community School District's administrative building. After Selzer worked to dry the kitten with towels and remove the ice balls and leaves from his hair, she placed him in a sink and washed him with some warm water.

"He just sat there and purred and purred and purred," Selzer said. "He was a little sweetheart."

After the kitten, which has not yet been confirmed as being a male or female, became presentable again, Selzer e-mailed a picture of it to Kay Larson, director of the Spencer Public Library.

As Selzer followed up with a telephone call to Larson, she mentioned how the kitten looked just like Dewey Readmore Books, the library's former 19-year resident cat who's since become famous with the penning of his tale, "Dewey: The Small-Town Library Cat Who Touched the World," by Vicki Myron, the former library director, and Bret Witter.

"And, of course, she wanted to know if we wanted a second Dewey at the library," Larson said.

"When Dewey had passed away, our library board decided to put a (two-year) moratorium on getting another cat here, to at least allow some time to pass and to allow people to grieve over Dewey and get used to the library without Dewey in it. That was one of the things that was just brought up recently, but with all of the book deals with Vicki and Dewey, and the movie that might possibly come out, they have kind of said, 'Let's just hold out a little while longer yet,'" Larson added, noting that two-year moratorium ended last month.

But the library director quickly stated, "There are a bunch of us here at the library, the staff, that would love to have another cat. And there are some people on the board, Esther Connell happened to stop by here Thursday and, of course, she had to look at the cat and pet it a little. And she said, 'I'd vote for keeping it.' So, some of the board members would like to get a cat."

While Larson, a cat enthusiast herself, did not totally shut the door on the possibility, she encouraged Selzer to bring the kitten to the library Thursday, when staff from Topspin Creative Corp., a New York City television production company working with Fuji Television Network of Japan on a show titled "Amazing Stories," would be in filming. The Japanese prime-time show, which features stories from around the world that inspire, amaze and educate Japanese audiences, plans to air a one-hour special about Myron and the late library cat in January 2009.

Selzer, meanwhile, called her aunt, Anna Gibson of Spencer, to ask if she'd serve as a temporary "foster mother" to the kitten.

"When I took him over to Anna's, she had said she'd put him in a little box on the chair next to her. She was busy trying to get some work done, and he didn't want to be in the box. So he crawled out and then crawled into her lap. That's a pretty good personality," Selzer said of the orange kitten. "...He is just a charmer for being a little feral cat. He has that eye contact, and doesn't shy away from you. He's pretty open to everybody."

Thursday morning, Selzer brought the kitten, tucked neatly inside her winter coat with its head peeking out, into the Spencer Public Library. She remembers Paula Brown and Tammi Herbold, who greeted her at the front desk, giving her a "funny look." Selzer was quickly sent back to Larson's office.

"He was just the cutest little thing, and very friendly," the library director said of the kitten. "He's going to be a good people cat. You can put him on his back and rub his stomach, and he doesn't resist, get uptight or anything. So, I said, 'Let's keep him here for a while.' The staff, of course, fawned over him. And so did I."

When Myron and her fiance, Glenn Albertson, arrived at the library that afternoon to meet with the Japanese film crew, she was told by library staff to "go into Kay's office to see what she's got for you."

"Vicki took one look around my desk, where the kitten was underneath the heater, and went, 'Ahh, it's another Dewey,'" Larson confided. "She picked it up and it purred right away and just laid in her arms."

After spending nearly four hours with the kitten and film crew, Myron and Albertson exited the library with the orange kitten in tow. Myron, who'd stated she wouldn't be in the market for another cat for at least another year, said, "You know how it is when you meet a cat, look in their face and fall in love. So she's here, and she's just the sweetest little thing. She kind of looks like Dewey did as a kitten -- but she's just got a personality all her own. I guess I was readier than I thought I was."

"We haven't come up with a name yet," she added. "But she is so cute. She's just got one of those faces. And she's actually kind of a Dewey look-alike, only she's got green eyes and a stubby little tail. But she's just the sweetest little thing."