The cat residing in front of the Health Center and by the staircase of New Hall has come to our attention recently. She is frequently seen and noticed sulking around in that area. 

Leigh Ann Jacobson, Senior Director of Family Philanthropy & Volunteer Engagement, said, “Coffee is a female Tortoiseshell/Tabby feral cat who has chosen LFA as her home. She lives outside of New Hall, which is where I work.” She continued, highlighting how long Coffee has been a member of the LFA community: “I have been caring for Coffee since I started working at LFA in 2020. She lives in the bushes right outside my office window. Over three years, she has begun to trust me enough to show me some affection.”

Emily Kalis, Assistant Dean of Students, and Senior Assistant Dean of Admission, was also the one who first discovered Coffee, “My first year working here when my office was in Reid, I noticed that this cat kept popping her head up, looking at me. And after a little bit, I’m like, there has to be a reason why she kept coming up to the window. And then I went outside and I looked below my window and there was a drain pipe and there were four kittens in there. We named them all after coffee names, like mocha, espresso, latte,” she continued, “I immediately called Julia Plambeck. I knew that she worked with Paws Chicago, which is an organization that takes feral cats or kittens. The four were able to be adopted. But the kitten, the mom Coffee, because she was already kind of in with the environment, she was too old to be adopted.” 

Jennifer Madeley, School Therapist; Health, Wellness & Community Teacher, added, “Feral cats can’t be domesticated. So, Coffee was brought back to campus and has been our campus cat since then.” She continued to emphasize Coffee’s eating habits, emphasizing how“Mrs. Jacobson started feeding her, not a lot of food, but just a little because you still want her to be able to hunt and get her own food.” 

Jacobson said, “We ask that the students not to feed Coffee because food trash will encourage raccoons and other possibly dangerous animals to be attracted to Coffee’s home area. We do not want to overfeed Coffee since she is feral and needs to maintain hunting skills for her food and safety.” Jacobson emphasized, “Seeing Coffee is the highlight of my work day. I just love her so much!”