Ex-1st Cat Seized, Joins Ex-Governor in Leaving Mansion

The lame-duck “first cat” who refused to leave the governor’s mansion when the new governor was sworn in was captured overnight and sent packing.

Jesse, the feisty calico owned by former Gov. Joan Finney, was found about 6:30 a.m. Friday in a humane trap that had been set up in the mansion’s third-floor attic, said Mike Matson, news secretary to the new governor, Bill Graves.

The cat had evaded efforts to catch her since Finney moved out of the mansion last weekend.

State Rep. Bill Bryant, a retired veterinarian, said that cats normally are territorial animals and that Jesse’s behavior was normal. Bryant also saw some significance in the fact that Graves is a Republican and Finney a Democrat. Republicans did well in the 1994 elections.

“Given the mood of the state, the cat was probably considering changing parties,” he said.