My mother works as an office manager for a metals testing lab. The owner is one of the nicest people in the world, and he has a real soft spot for any and all animals.

One day, about a year ago, a little cat wandered into the lab and hid in some machinery. The guys there had take it apart to get the half-grown kitty who had gotten stuck inside. Everyone at the lab decided to adopt the cat.

They named her Saytec - after the manufacturer of the machinery she was found in! - and had her spayed, got her her shots, etc.

Fortunately, this lab has three shifts a day, so there's always someone there to take care of her.

Well, after a year, she's a beautiful sleek cat who has her own I.D. badge (which identifies her job as "Rodent Procurer"), gets a bit of bacon from the roach coach every morning (morning snack time is her chance to socialize with everyone), and snoozes on a stack of paper reams (she has her own bed, but prefers the stack, naturally).

I've heard about "working cats" who hang out in book and antique stores, but this is the first cat I've ever known who works for a laboratory!

Copyright © Myra Dinnerstein
October 30, 1998