Meet our pets!

Meet our staff’s furry (and fishy!) companions!

Annette Carr: Long Island

(Clockwise from top left):

Teeny is the oldest and wisest of the squat. Her hobbies include napping, eating, and taking tremendous doses of catnip.

Pipsqueak is the baby of the group. She weighs about 6 pounds and brings us gifts every day in the form of dead wildlife.

Lil’ used to be a feral cat who wandered into the house and decided to set up residence. I guess you can say she chose us. She is also deaf.

Bunny is the queen bee of the house. She weighs 20 pounds and has an attitude to match.

Dora Isakova: Forest Hills

Let me introduce you to our smallest family member. His name is Max and he has been with us for over 5 years now. He can be very friendly and loving, but also very protective when there are strangers around. Our Max is very smart and knows tons of commands, his favorites are “jump” and “roll over.” Having Max can sometimes be a lot of work, especially when he steals food off the ground and then gets a tummy ache, but we love him very much and are so happy he’s a part of our family.

Lara Lasner-Frater: Touro Harlem

(Left to right)

Pickle von BunBun is a dachshund who is taken care of by my godchild. Pickle loves attention and giving people baths. She’s an old girl at 14 but still demands attention anytime you come near.

William, a/k/a William the Conqueror. My father passed away in 2016. In 2017 I was adopted by a cat named William which is my father’s middle name. I consider him a gift from my late father, except that I got a mischievous gremlin. William is loving and sweet to balance out his destructive side which is knocking things over,  nipping when his hungry, bothering his sister, and going into places he’s not allowed.

Originally named Uhura after the Star Trek character, she started getting called Miss Kitty because she’s a diva who often sings the song of her people at 1am. Her favorite things are to run around like a maniac and freak out her brother William.

Hoodoo is the senior kitty and in very good health for a 16-year-old cat. He likes to sit on your lap or chest and purr loudly. In his youth, he was fond of opening the fridge and getting into mischief.

Leiba Rimler: Cross-River Campus

The best kind of pet… very well behaved (except for when it comes to posing for photos, they don’t do a great job of that)

(Editor’s note: I think they’re fantastic at posing!)

Carol Shapiro: Cross-River Campus

Toby the dog (as opposed to Toby the Human, which is how we refer to my library colleague).

Kirk Snyder: Cross-River Campus

These are my cats Diane (calico/tortoiseshell) and Cinnamon (orange tabby). We got Diane as a kitten right after our daughter was born (5 years ago), so they’ve grown up together. She is very sweet, gentle, and friendly with everyone. Cinnamon is a couple years older. We developed a bond when she was a kitten, and I am still the only person she likes! She is very affectionate to me only and sleeps with me every night. She is not friendly to other adults but, to her credit, is very tolerant of kids. We got Cinnamon and Diane both through Anjellicle Cat Rescue, for whom we also sometimes volunteer to foster cats until they can be adopted. Most recently we had Jonah and Elijah for a couple months, two little tuxedo cat brothers. 

Kelly Tenny: Long Island

This is Ben Cat! He’s 19 years young, a pillow hog, a foodie, and my favorite reading buddy. You’ll typically find him soaking up the sun as it comes through the window or sleeping on his favorite pillow behind the couch. I adopted him from North Shore Animal League when I was 15 years old and he’s been by my side ever since. It’s been difficult to see him go through different struggles as he ages, but I am eternally grateful for every single day we have and have had, together.

Amanda Wong: Harlem

My cat Phoebe is 2 years old. She was found abandoned on the streets when she was a kitten. Now she lives as a spoiled indoor cat. She loves cheese and playing with ice cubes.

[Post and editing by Emma Larson-Whittaker, Library and Outreach Assistant, Starrett City]

Library Staff Profile: Christine Leddy

Christine Leddy, Librarian, Health Sciences Library – Central Islip 

Welcome to the latest in our series of Staff Profiles. Christine Leddy recently joined the Touro community as Librarian at the Health Sciences Library, which serves the School of Health Sciences and the Graduate School of Education and Psychology. Christine answered some questions for us below:

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Meow-y National Cat Day!

Celebrated on October 29th in the U.S., and on August 8th in Canada, National Cat Day is a holiday that was created to raise awareness about cat adoption and rescue. Established in 2005, National Cat Day is also a day for cat owners and cat lovers to laud the cats in their lives and to acknowledge all of the joy that they bring.

Cats are the most popular household pet in the U.S.: around 34% of homes having one or more cats. In addition to the cute and cuddly factors, cats and other household pets provide social, emotional, and physical health benefits to their humans. These benefits include decreased cholesterol levels and triglyceride levels, decreased blood pressure, and decreased feelings of loneliness.

According to the CDC, “Research has shown that cats can provide emotional support, improve moods, and contribute to the overall morale of their owners. Cats are also credited with promoting socialization among older individuals and physically or mentally disabled people.”

Benjamin Franklin. Photo provided by Kelly Tenny.

Here are some “paw-some” ways (Would it really be National Cat Day if we didn’t stick at least one cat pun in here?) to celebrate this cat-centric day!

Adopt A Cat

There are millions of cats nationwide in need of a loving home. If you are in the position to take in a cat or two, why not share your home and add a new member to the family! Not only will you be changing that cat’s life forever in a positive way, you’ll be improving yours, too.

Donate To A Local Shelter

Many animal shelters are 501(c)3 non-profit organizations that rely heavily on the generosity of donors. Medical care, food costs, housing, and taking in animals on a continuous basis gets expensive. If you are able to give to a shelter to help them pay the bills, you’d be playing a key part in keeping that organization open and functional.

Volunteer Your Time & Skills

For those unable to donate monetarily, a great way to help out local shelters is to volunteer! Clean up after the animals, feed them, administer medications, and help socialize them. Allergic to cats? Unable to volunteer in-person? Why not donate skills that you have! These organizations often need help with other aspects of their operation like fundraising, organization of collection drives, social media promotion, and more

Diego. Photo provided by Kelly Tenny.
Spend Some Extra Time With Your Cats

Who better to spend quality time with on National Day Cat Day than your own feline friends! Snuggle up and take a cat nap together, unleash their frisky side by playing with their favorite toys, spoil them with treats, and snap some photos of your companion.

Unwind Watching Cat Videos

We live in a stressful world, so take a break from studying and watching the news to let loose with some laughter, cry happy tears, or gush over kittens. YouTube and other video streaming websites are rife with funny, heartfelt, and adorable cat videos. No matter what your mood is, there’s a cat video for that.

References

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. (2019, April 15). About Pets & People. https://www.cdc.gov/healthypets/health-benefits/index.html

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. (2019, April 1). Cats. https://www.cdc.gov/healthypets/pets/cats.html

Zax, D. (2007, June 30). A Brief History of House Cats. Smithsonian Magazine. https://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/a-brief-history-of-house-cats-158390681/

National Cat Day (n.d.). https://www.nationalcatday.com/

This post was contributed by Kelly Tenny, Library Assistant, Bay Shore

The New Meaning of “Shelter in Place”

For the first time in the history of Chicago Animal Care and Control, the shelter has run out of dogs to adopt — and Chicago is not the only place in the United States seeing an uptick in animal adoptions and fostering since the coronavirus outbreak began.

In New York City and Los Angeles, the ASPCA says its applications for dogs and cats are up 200%. Nationwide, the statistics are even more promising. Petpoint, a software program that monitors 1,200 animal shelters across the country, found that adoptions are up 700% this year compared to 2019. Why the increase in pet adoptions and fostering since the coronavirus outbreak? It seems that sheltering in place, social media appeals, and the need for companionship are all driving this trend.

a cat and a dog cuddling outside
Image by Free-Photos from Pixabay

With stay-at-home orders in place across the country, many animal shelters are suspending operations. The temporary closure of shelters is leaving many animals vulnerable to not receiving adequate care. Furthermore, adoption events that usually bring in potential pet parents are being cancelled or postponed due to social distancing guidelines. The situation has caused shelter workers and volunteers to reach out on social media over the past month to ask the public for help by adopting shelter animals. If people are unable to adopt, shelters are asking them to foster animals temporarily until the shelters can reopen in the future.

In addition to being a platform for shelters to appeal directly to the public for help, social media has also been used to form virtual adoption communities and host online events. Since many live adoption events have been cancelled, some shelters are using Facebook Live to showcase adoptable pets online to people across the country. This method has given animals more exposure to a larger audience than traditional live events, which, in turn, is bringing in more potential adopters. Social media has also allowed rescue organizations across the country to work together in order to bring animals from one region to another. This has been very helpful since some areas of the country have a surplus of animals and others have a surplus of interested adopters and foster applicants. 

young kittens in a cat bed
Image by Helga Kattinger from Pixabay

Americans are responding to these social media activities in droves. The response seems to have grown out of both a sense of compassion toward the animals in need and a desire that many Americans have to help out others in a time of crisis to “try and do their part.” This response is also likely the result of the companionship that pets can provide in this anxious time. Taking care of pets provides consistency and routine for people who are not used to living under these new restrictions. In a time of social distancing, pets give people a sense of comfort and connection. They are giving people activities to engage in, too, whether that is going outside to walk the dog — while practicing social distancing — or having online meetings with other pet owners. The benefits to both humans and animals has been great and is something to cherish during this stressful time.

This post was contributed by Annette Carr, Librarian at the School of Health Sciences at Bay Shore

References

Beck, M., & McFetridge, S. (2020). Coronavirus in US: Pet fostering takes off as COVID-19 keeps Americans home. Retrieved from https://abc7ny.com/6077028/

Chicago animal care and control runs out of adoptable dogs for 1st time ever. (2020). Retrieved from https://abc7chicago.com/6082614/

Fies, A. (2020). People and pets help each other through coronavirus pandemic. Retrieved from https://abcnews.go.com/Health/people-pets-coronavirus-pandemic/story?id=69949246

Jeunesse, W. L. (2020). Pet adoptions, fostering spike amid coronavirus restrictions. Retrieved from https://www.foxnews.com/us/pet-adoptions-and-fostering-spike-during-coronavirus

Librarians and their “Cat Bags”

cat1
Bay Shore Library

One doesn’t have to be a librarian for long to find out that the first thing to do at a professional library conference is making a beeline straight to the Baker & Taylor table to get a shopping bag.  The very first experience will have you hooked on repeating this activity.  While this tradition falls under the things they don’t tell you in library school, you do learn about Baker & Taylor as a book distributor for libraries.  Any decent library conference will have Baker & Taylor among its publishers, but it is their beautiful shopping bags with cats on them that is eye-catching to all.  It doesn’t take long to learn that these cats are the company’s mascots.

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