WHITE SETTLEMENT, Texas — The White Settlement Public Library is home to more than just books, and lots of folks here want to make sure it stays that way.
“Browser is a fixture at the library,” Joanne Ingram, a White Settlement resident, told KDAF.
“He’s just a little mascot for the library,” said Joanne Wendt, who also lives nearby.
“Everybody loves that cat,” John Emory said.
Yeah, Browser the cat was hired six years ago to help with the library’s rodent problem. He’s lived there ever since, and he’s endeared himself to the regulars, young and old alike!
“Browser meets us at the door when we come to the library,” said 6-year-old Jake.
“We like Browser a lot cause he’s such a cute cat and we like petting him and reading books with him,” said 10-year-old Lilly.
Added 11-year-old Ethan: “Lots of kids, when they see a cat in the library, they wanna come more and more.”
But now, folks are trying to save their feline friend.
Apparently, after a city employee wasn’t allowed to bring a puppy to work, they complained it wasn’t fair since there was a cat at the library. And so, the council voted 2-1 in favor of evicting Browser.
Billy Morris serves on the library’s board. “I mean, I just feel like that’s an attack,” Morris said. “The library employees, they pay for Browser.”
Susan Orta, a library regular, added, “He doesn’t cost the taxpayers anything.”
John Emory is among those doing something about it.
“We got a petition here to save Browser. Over 800 signatures,” Emory told NewsFix. “Even cat haters, they’re for Browser, you know? They’re signing it, too.”
Heck, even the mayor says Browser should stay!
“I have not one time heard one complaint about the cat whatsoever,” Mayor Ronald A. White said. “Hopefully, these guys will reconsider.”
If they don’t, this library cat could find himself browsing for a new forever home.