Claws out as mayor tries to oust council’s ‘morale-boosting’ cat
AS council fats cats go, you would think Missy the moggy would be less controversial than most.
But the cat is at the centre of a row over whether she should be ousted from her local authority role.
Now a special council panel has been given the task of deciding Missy’s fate.
The cat has been visiting the offices of Tewkesbury Town Council every day since last summer, no doubt drawn by the bowl of food staff leave out for her.
A ‘meet the team’ page on the council’s website even features a picture of Missy at a desk with the title: ‘Morale officer and town cat.’
Missy’s owner has no problems with her council role.
However Karen Brennan, mayor of the Gloucestershire town, says the cat distracts staff. She said: ‘An office is somewhere for business to be done and we don’t need a cat around.’
One councillor, who asked not to be named, branded the row ‘nuts’. He said: ‘The council should have better things to do. There are so many things we should be doing.’
It is thought the issue was raised in a letter from an asthmatic councillor who is allergic to cats.
Councillor Chris Danter is opposing Missy’s presence. She said: ‘That cat doesn’t belong to us.
‘I have nothing against the cat but for the practicalities of the town hall, it is not on. It is the cost to the town hall that worries me. Maybe we will get them a goldfish instead.’
Fellow councillor Andy Smith said he was undecided over which way he would vote.
He said: ‘It does seem a bit of a storm in a teacup. There are bigger things to worry about than a cat.’