‘Cats on the Job’ Lists 50 Cats Who Are Bringing In The Scratch

After I posted that the Acro-Cats were hiring a cat circus attendant, and that you could travel the country hanging out with a bunch of cats who also play in a rock band, I received a complimentary copy of Lisa Rogak’s Cats on the Job: 50 Fabulous Felines Who Purr, Mouse, and Even Sing For Their Supper.

So, as we prepare for another weekend, let’s take a look at some cats who are also currently watching the clock and tabbying over to a few blogs to proCATstinate. (Oh yes, we’re going to get cat puns.)

First, there’s the news anchor cat, who is the fourth anchor of the Japanese political news show Politics Right Now with Yasuhiro Tase. The cat, Mago, is there to help interview subjects relax; as the book explains, “Some viewers reported that the only time they’ve seen certain politicians smile was on the show.”

A lot of the cat jobs come down to “maintaining a calming presence.” The music studio assistant cat, whose official title is “studio assistant and community builder,” is there to help musicians chill out and just jam, man. The bookstore assistant cat is there to help people chill out and just buy a book already, man.

There is an ordained minister cat — via the Universal Life Church, of course — and plenty of cats who have been hired to kill mice at various businesses, from distilleries to pubs. (Let’s not think about that one too hard.)

There’s also an exercise trainer cat, the star of a short-lived exercise trend called Catflexing. Believe it or not, The Daily Show With Jon Stewart profiled Catflexing in 1999, and here’s the official clip of Jon Stewart and Stephen Colbert learning how to use cats as resistance weights:

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Since I’m assuming you all watched the entire four-minute segment just to see young Stewart and Colbert in action, I’ll humanely clip the rest of this post’s claws short. (Okay, that cat pun might have landed as well as a wet hairball.)

Our final featured cat is Cheeto, the cat who trains dogs to find other missing cats. Cat’s job? Hiding in a box. I’d say this is the cushiest job ever, but I don’t know if they actually put any cushions inside the box. The book notes that the profiled cat, Cheeto, “worked once a week, year-round, although he did get most holidays off.”

It’s nice to know that cats aren’t guaranteed holidays off either. No, wait, it’s terrible. We need better labor conditions for both humans and cats, and we need them RIGHT MEOW.

Photo credit: Jonas Löwgren

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