“It’s just a fun, positive experience for the kids and great socialization for the cats,” said Lisa Starr, the Austin Humane Society’s director of marketing. She says Austin has the only reading-to-cats program there is.

So how do the cats like being read to by kids?

“Some of them just look at ‘em,” Lisa said. “Some of them run away. Certainly each cat is going to have a different reaction. But the goal for the cat is that they’ll have increased exposure to children. It’s to help them to be more social and for them to be more adoptable.”

When I was out there, Matt Leighty, 9, was reading a book called “So What’s It Like to Be a Cat?” to a group of cats. So how’d that go, son? “They started fighting each other,” Matt said. “Big tails and hissing. They don’t appear to be doing it right now. I think they like this book better: ‘Monkey for Sale.’ “

Right now, Thirty 6-to-12-year-olds are signed up for the reading-to-cats program. “They come in, and they have to attend a brief orientation that we hold every Saturday at 3 o’clock,” Lisa said. “Then they sign up for 30-minute time slots every Tuesday. They either bring books or (read) ASPCA-approved books about dogs, cats, horses, snakes and all kinds of animals.” On hand for the cats at the shelter are titles such as “Let’s Get a Pup,” “My First Guinea Pig and Other Small Pets,” and a book called “The Goat Lady,” with a cover photo of a bag lady on the cover with a goat.

“We had the Olympet Games over here Sunday, and we gave all the cats catnip and had them play with pingpong balls; it was very fun,” Lisa said.

Source: Statesman.com Link Posted by Drew. Filed under Weird US News.