Who said it’s a dog’s life? Inside or outside, cats are everywhere. Some students hid them in the dorms. Others came to Castleton with their owners, while some were adopted. Either way, having a pet around seems to make students and staff happy.

A student, not into the cat craze even admits the felines have their charms.

“It’s kind of hard not to like a kitten,” says Page O’Neil. O’Neill stops by her friends’ residence off campus frequently to visit with their kittens, Franklin Garcia Sisko, Henry and Floyd.

Will Johnson recalls an orange ball of affection that visited the parking lot between Castleton Hall and the Houses. Johnson believes that students love having the presence of a pet, something that many long for when they think of home.

Emma Deis, owner of Franklin and Henry, acquired one of her kittens from a breeder and the other came from a barn. One is known for being a garbage disposal for any left overs, with his favorite being peas.

Frank and Hank live with a black cat, Floyd, who encourages them to play with the faucet whenever it’s turned on. Even kittens smuggled on campus, until they ultimately were discovered and sent home, cause a bit of a splash.

“Having the kittens was like having kids,” said a cat owner, who wished to remain anonymous. “We had to make sure that they didn’t run into the hallways or smell, but our suitemates loved them.”

Mike Hyland and his roommates, as well as Charly Klaas and Meghan Konowich, saved their furry additions from homelessness. Bailey, Hyland’s cat, was a stray living outside of Wheeler when his friends decided to start feeding her. Eventually when they moved into a house, they brought her along.

Klaas and Konowich were only planning on rescuing one kitten from the Rutland County Humane Society when they saw another, Maverick, and decided to take the RCHS’s offer on two kittens for only $15 more than the price of one.

Friends of the felines are not limited to students either. Some of the Area Coordinators for Castleton have cats in their living quarters. Brittany Wooten’s cat, Maggie, was adopted from a family that was moving and unable to bring her along. Maggie can often be seen hanging out in the window of Haskell Hall.

Other Area Coordinators also have cats as pets. Christie Wilkerson came as a packaged deal with Target, her prized pet.

“(Target) regularly visits the academic support center and is spoiled rotten” Wilkerson said.

Charly Klaas, explains why cats are so lovable.

“We were gonna get a hamster or a ferret but we decided on kittens because they are so cute and they’ll love us forever,” Klaas said. Klaas and her roommate are the owners of Sadie and Maverick.

“I’m a dog person, but I would choose a cat because they give unconditional love,” Douglas Philips, known also as D-Phresh, said. “They look forward to seeing you arrive when you come home”.

The Rutland County Human Society is a non-profit organization that helps animals find homes all over the county. For more information, visit their website at, http://www.rchsvt.org/adoptions.html, or contact by phone at (802) – 483-6700.