Munson: Hollywood eludes Alden's Garfield the cat

Aug. 31, 2010

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President Darlene Hulbert holds Daisy Mae at the no-kill Greenbelt Humane Society, which was established in 1996. Dozens of cats are being cared for in Alden. / KYLE MUNSON/THE REGISTER

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Alden, Ia. — I met the local resident this week whose Hollywood dreams have been dashed.

In the process I also became acquainted with no fewer than 95 of his roommates in their crowded downtown digs.

Meet Garfield. As a cat he seems to have been blessed with a name destined for stardom. Yet here he still sits as an anonymous, purring fur mass among dozens at the Greenbelt Humane Society.

Garfield is a 2-year-old, orange tabby with hazel eyes, and weighs 11 pounds.

He arrived at the shelter March 7 from Eldora. The couple that owned him was in the midst of a divorce. According to shelter volunteers the husband was threatening to, ahem, dispose of the cat if it wasn't removed from the household.

So Garfield - technically Garfield 3, since the volume of cats here often requires numerical modifiers for names - joined his new ad hoc family.

When I dropped by I found Pat Halter of rural Ackley, the "nail trimmer and fur comber" of the volunteer staff, clipping her way through the shelter, paw by paw.

Carolyn Crosser, the shelter's vice president, leaned back in her chair - and suddenly Earl the cat snared her pony tail, yanked it through the wires of his cage and began gnawing on it.

Darlene Hulbert, Greenbelt's current president, grew up on a 40-acre farm near Bayard and thought about becoming a veterinarian. But she was too squeamish with shots. So she spends her days working at Heritage Care Center in Iowa Falls and evenings here with the cats.

These three women - don't dare call them crazy cat ladies - are among five core volunteers who care for the felines at this no-kill shelter. A board of seven governs the nonprofit operation, logging about 600 pounds of cat food and $1,500 or so in expenses each month.

Cages line the main room, with a separate area in front for the rambunctious kittens. An isolation ward in back is reserved for diseased or injured cats.

Greenbelt was founded in 1996. About a decade ago it moved into this 1915 two-story brick building on Water Street along the Iowa River. The space previously served as a hardware store and consignment shop, among other uses.

"Every cat has a story" is the mantra here.

Greenbelt is bursting with more stories than ever: This year is the first time the shelter surpassed a tally of 90 cats. Party-Girl, Murka, Elegant Nadia, Oreo 2, Gunga-Din.

Shadow is the self-appointed "office manager" who likes to lounge on top of the desk.

A former resident named Krinkle (for his bad ear) was bloody when he was rescued from a derelict truck in Iowa Falls.

"He was neutered once, but they didn't quite get everything on both sides," Halter said. "So he got to be neutered two times."

Poor Krinkle.

His meow sounded like a pirate's "Arrr!" But Krinkle lost that quirk after the second neutering.

I was going to suggest that Wright County Egg farms might want to adopt all the Greenbelt cats in one fell swoop, considering its well-publicized mice infestations that helped lead to nationwide salmonella poisonings.

But I understand that we're talking about tame house cats - not feral farm stock primed for the hunt.

In fact, the Greenbelt cats are color-coded according to personality, from the more stand-offish purple, to middle-of-the-road orange, to green for the most intense and needy cats.

Garfield is labeled a "sidekick" cat within the orange category.

It was through Greenbelt's listings on Petfinder.com that he had his brush with fame.

The California firm Animals of a Different Color specializes in providing the movie, TV and ad industries with groups of similar-looking animals.

So founder Rose Ordile can take a nondescript white horse, for instance, and add stripes to make it look like a zebra. Or she can ensure numerous orange cats all look exactly like 9 Lives cat food pitchman Morris.

The inquiries with Garfield began earlier this summer. The Greenbelt staff was asked to submit a variety of extra headshots and other images of him.

He had to be taken to the vet in Iowa Falls to be tested for feline leukemia, AIDS and infectious peritonitus.

His test results were healthy, and the firm seemed on the verge of flying out to adopt Garfield.

But ultimately Alden's would-be star didn't make the cut.

Animals of a Different Color didn't divulge the criteria, why Garfield was rejected or which specific role he was in the running for.

But you have to admit that he looks a lot like Morris.

Garfield himself declined to comment for this column.

Regardless, I'm pretty sure that this "sidekick" is less concerned about life in Hollywood vs. Iowa as long as the next meal is promptly served, his handlers are affectionate and there's a toy mouse at hand.

Kyle Munson can be reached at (515) 284-8124 or kmunson@dmreg.com. Connect with him on Facebook (Kyle Munson's Iowa), Twitter (@KyleMunson) and his blog (DesMoinesRegister.com/KyleMunson).