Attorney's office's cat 'nothing but good' for staff, witnesses

Mittimus the cat is the Henry County Attorney's Office's smallest and furriest employee.

She was adopted by the Attorney's office in August 2017, after staff members did research about the calming effect animals can have on people experiencing stress, said Jennifer Lehman, victim witness coordinator at the Attorney's Office.

'You can pet the cat and the world's OK,' Lehman said. 'She's been nothing but good for us.'

Staff at the Attorney's office asked around for the perfect cat before getting a call from the New London veterinary clinic.

Whether a witness or a victim, Lehman said at the Attorney's Office giving a statement is not an environment anyone wants to be in. Mittimus alleviates that anxiety in a 'very natural way,' Lehman said.

It's calming to have Mittimus for victims and witnesses to focus on when they are giving a statement, Lehman said. Mittimus will walk by and sit in someone's lap or demand attention, acting as a small distraction to what is taking place in the office.

'She is who she is. She makes the rounds and it happens very naturally,' Lehman said. 'She is very willing to do her job.'

Lehman said when a large family was gathered in the Attorney's office during a trial, Mittimus would roam the meeting room and be a calming presence for the family members.

Lehman said they worried about people who are allergic to cats or simply don't like them, but they haven't had any problems so far.

'It's not been an issue,' Lehman said.

Mittimus is well taken care of at her home in the County Attorney's office.

Cara Ferguson, administrative assistant in the Attorney's Office, said it took Mittimus about a year to make the office her home. But she is well settled in by now.

The cost of Mittimus' care comes out of the pockets of Attorney's office employees. The county does not pay anything for her upkeep, Ferguson said.

Ferguson said Mittimus has a lot of 'cattitude.' If they feed her any people food, Mittimus will run off with it as if it's prey, Ferguson said.

Mittimus gets the good cat food and has several litter boxes around the office, Lehman said. At night, she sleeps in the office of the office manager Tammy Mulford, so she doesn't set off any of the motion detectors in the courthouse.

Over the weekend, a staff member will come in and check in and play with Mittimus.

Mulford said they enjoy having Mittimus around and that she makes the office seem more approachable, she said.

While a year ago Mittimus had a health scare, she is now doing well. Mittimus is an older cat, which the Attorney's office keeps in mind, but Mulford nursed her back to health, and Mittimus has gotten 'fat, sassy and happy,' Lehman said.

Mittimus passes the time by watching squirrels out the office window. She also enjoys chasing the laser beam on the end of Henry County deputies' Tasers and finding random places to sleep.