Sawdust the deaf Cat

The day in day out happenings in prison would be very upsetting to most people who by most standards live somewhat of a mundane lifestyle with few distractions. In a typical day I might witness confrontation between officer's and inmates, often to the physical point. Over hear a discussion between inmates about homosexual behavior and deviant tendencies, which by the way I am supposed to document under the Prison Rape Eradication Act. PREA for short. Were that the case I would spend most of my time with a pen and paper just writing who said what.

Working in an environment that has developed its own culture where men take on woman's names to project their sexual preferences, money is items with a graduating scale of worth, twelve ounces of coffee is worth three bulgier, a brand of tobacco used to roll into cigarettes. A place where men stalk other men and foul language is thrown about like sawdust. Which leads me to the topic. Some months back a litter of kittens were born somewhere in camp around the area where I work near the back of the prison and few paid attention as in prior times most cats would just end up being victim to the electric fence that surrounds the camp. Well as luck would have it several inmates took to protecting the litter, bringing them food from the kitchen and generally giving the no reason to go near the fence. Of the three I have seen one was of particularity interesting as it appeared audibly challenged, or deaf. All of the cats would venture into my shop area but as soon as the table saws or sanders would come on, all but one would high tail it out the sixteen foot roll up door.,

The little white cat became friendly with all the inmates, she would show no fear in being passed from inmate to inmate with intermittent feeding. At lunch when the horn sounded for the inmates to return their tools before leaving for lunch the little cat would be soundly sleeping by someones worktable. Typically the inmates would return in about thirty minutes and the work day would continue. Sawdust as she was aptly named, often awoke to find that she would be alone which would be quite upsetting to her and she would cry like a wildcat, climb the sixteen steps to my office and sit and issue such a loud roar for such a small cat until my co-worker or I would open the door and allow her to come in where she seemed content sitting on my desk until the inmates returned where again, off she would go riding the shoulders of an inmate like a parrot.

By the days end as the horn sounded and this was the only stipulation I have about the cat, and that was for someone to see that the cat went out before they left for the day. That task was often seen to by several inmates, our plants are separated so some inmates from the chemical plant and the upholstery plant have to exit through my plant meaning that I cannot close the walk through or the roll up door until all inmates are in my plant ready to be padded down and filed through the metal detector before going to their respective blocks. In that time Sawdust might have to be taken out side several times and on one occasion I had to lower the door and have someone toss the cat as I closed the door to keep her out.
By morning, Sawdust has forgiven me and greets me as I open the door and she follows me to take her place in the pathway awaiting the arrival of the inmates starting the cycle of feeding sleeping and back rides but she doesn't hear the foul language the sound of a saw or even her own name, so much love in the most unexpected place......