While researching Unlocking History, stories can emerge from faded memos such as the California Men’s Colony (CMC) great cat caper of 1956.
Frantic to find her missing feline, a San Luis Obispo resident phoned CMC to report one was missing with one of their employees to blame.
“At approximately 4:20 p.m. on this date, (the Second Watch sergeant) received a telephone call from a Mrs. Wright. She stated, ‘Someone from your institution brought his cat to my house to be bred with my cat. Now when he came back to my house to pick up his cat, he picked up the wrong cat. Please try to locate this man and have him bring my cat back,” according to a memo dated Feb. 25, 1956.
The sergeant calmed the caller, saying the institution would be on the lookout for the kitty.
“(I reassured her) CMC would exert the utmost diligence in locating the anonymous party mentioned. The count was going on at the time. Mrs. Wright didn’t know the officer’s name, but only that he said he worked at CMC. The writer is passing this information on to all Watch Sergeants, with the request, that they try to locate this man as Mrs. Wright was extremely upset over the loss of her cat.”
In early March, the culprit came forward.
On March 2, 1956, Correctional Officer R.E. Little penned a memo to First Watch Lt. R.J. Sloan.
“On Tuesday, Feb. 21, 1956, (I) took a Siamese cat to Mrs. Wright in San Luis Obispo to have it bred with a male cat. On Thursday, (my) wife picked up what was believed to be (our) cat. On Tuesday, Feb. 28, a First Watch officer (said) Mrs. Wright had contacted the institution trying to locate (me).”
Officer Little was persistent in his attempts to clear his name.
“I went to Mrs. Wright’s house but she was not home. On Monday, three attempts were made to phone her but there was no answer. Several attempts were made to contact (her) on Tuesday but were also unsuccessful. Finally, on Thursday, I spoke to Mrs. Wright and the matter was settled,” Officer Little wrote.
With the officer found and the cat caper put to rest, Capt. R.L. Wham fired off a memo to CMC’s Superintendent.
“The writer considers the case of the missing feline closed,” Wham wrote on March 2, 1956.
And thus ends the tale of the CMC great cat caper.
By Don Chaddock, Inside CDCR editor
Office of Public and Employee Communications
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