Karen Wormald
Karen Wormald is an award-winning business writer and author of How to Work Like a CAT, her second book. Her quirky column on office life, “Around the Watercooler” regularly appears in Office Solutions magazine, and she’s a contributing editor to PC Solutions. Her work has appeared in many other publications, including Cruise Travel, Credit Union Business, Cats magazine, and at AbsoluteWrite.com. She’s also a member of the Cat Writers’ Association.
In 2002, she left corporate America’s rat race for full-time freelancing as owner of Kew Publications, trading cubicles and annoying co-workers for bunny slippers and cats. She writes copy, edits, and proofreads for businesses large and small, and it still leaves her time to catnap and pursue other interests.
In the spring and fall semesters, she runs Business Writers’ Bootcamp for her alma mater, the University of Richmond.
This former ballroom dancer and Yankee transplant to the South is a news junkie with a liberal bent who enjoys visiting faraway places by ship, collecting classic movies, learning French (30+ years and still not fluent), watching travel and cooking shows, reading and writing satire and, of course, communing with felines.
If you ever need the services of a writer, contact her.
The Cats
Yul and Fred debate a blog topic while Adele barely conceals her boredom.
Yul
Yul is a 1996-vintage former shelter cat and the diabolical mastermind behind many unexplained crashes in the night. He didn’t find his voice until he was three, and hasn’t shut up since. His thirst for adventure and black coat once got him accidentally locked in a dark closet. During his Houdini-like attempts to escape, he sustained a minor injury that ultimately cost him his tail. But don’t ask how — he doesn’t like to talk about it.
His hobbies include binging and purging; playing “Super Kitty” in a plastic Kroger bag cape; filling the food bowls with assorted objects; stealing knives; sassing back whenever he’s scolded (which is frequently); contemplating the ceiling; and putting Adele up to stunts that invariably get her in trouble.
Adele
Adele is also a former shelter cat, who joined the family in 2000 as princess and peacemaker with the ease of Grace Kelly relocating to Monaco. Adele can banish tension with one regal swish of her tail. On the other hand, she loves to run around the house screaming at the top of her lungs at nothing.
Her hobbies include sticking her arms in the VCR; watching TV (Video Catnip is a particular favorite); frolicking in water; fetching toys (when she’s in the mood); grooming her brothers and yakking up hairballs that should belong to them; burrowing; performing death-defying stunts in places too high and narrow for sensible cats; and nude sunbathing.
Cole
Cole joined Cats Working in June 2009 and, at 3 years old, is still very much a work in progress. We just learned that he was found trying to cross a major highway and taken to the no-kill Richmond Animal League when he was only 6 weeks old so, apart from a short time in foster care, he has known nothing but institutional life, which is reflected in his shy personality. Adjusting to having the run of his own home and getting to know 2 siblings is proceeding one day at a time.
So far, Cole enjoys the same pursuits that were available to him in the shelter: hanging out in a kitty condo or sitting at the window watching the birds and squirrels. He’s slowly discovering the thrill of cat toys and has enjoyed getting a buzz from having a fine ‘nip smeared on his scratching post.
Cole likes playing in his water bowl and getting his face wet, and he plays hide and seek with Karen by removing his collar and leaving it in odd places.
Fred
1992 — May 21, 2009
Fred was Kew’s honorary senior executive vice president because he spent the most time in the office — asleep under the desk. He became alpha cat after appearing on a softball field in 1993 as a mysterious stray with no past. Fred’s approach to life was pragmatic — if you don’t like something, just walk away from it, spray it so it will never forget you, or kill it.
His hobbies included binge drinking from faucets; sitting on whatever you’re reading; catnapping in sunny spots; keeping tabs on the ‘hood from the kitchen picture window; stuffing himself with cat treats; and licking people.
Fred passed away from chronic renal failure, but his wit and wisdom appear in the archives of Cats Working and will endure as long as we occupy the blogosphere.
