HALLOWELL — Hallowell Police Department may have the cutest force in central Maine with the addition of the newest member of its office.

Patrol Sgt. Jordan Gaudet said a man brought a gray kitten into the police department after reportedly finding it on the fire escape at Granite Athletic Club on Town Farm Road. On Sept. 9, the department posted a picture of the cat to its Facebook page trying to find its owner. Nearly a month later, no one has come forward and it looks like the cat, now named “Granite” or “GG” for short, is likely staying put.

Hallowell police Sgt. Jordan Gaudet cradles Granite, the kitten who took up residence at the department three weeks ago, on Wednesday. Kennebec Journal photo by Andy Molloy

“(She was) dropped off and it was like she lived here the whole time,” Gaudet said. “She made herself right at home.”

Hallowell’s entire force pitches in to feed and take care of the cat, he said. He noted that Loyal Biscuit Co. pitched in with some food samples for Granite when she first started staying in the office.

The cat is confined to the bottom floor of City Hall, which houses the police department and the code enforcement office. Gaudet said the cat has learned to scale the half-door at the police department and visits Code Enforcement Officer Doug Ide when he’s in his office. Ide said he enjoys having the cat — which he calls “Kitty” — as an office companion.

“Things are pretty dull in the basement sometimes so it’s good to have her bouncing around,” he said. “Probably the best hire in Hallowell except for my own.”

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Hallowell Police Chief Eric Nason said the cat has had a positive effect on morale, especially for officers working the night shift.

“At 2 or 3 o’clock in the morning, you come in to do a report and you’re all by yourself,” Nason said. “It gives the officer someone to talk to. They’ve enjoyed the company of the cat.”

Gaudet said the cat could be feral because it doesn’t have a microchip. Nason disagreed, adding that the cat lacked the “street smarts” necessary to make it as a feral cat in rural Hallowell.

“It’s too friendly,” he said. “It doesn’t have the street smarts a feral cat would have. It thinks everybody’s a friend. It wouldn’t have lasted more than a couple of days.”

Granite, the Hallowell Police Department’s kitten, scales the wall outside the station where she took up residence three weeks ago. Kennebec Journal photo by Andy Molloy

Gaudet said the cat would stay for the “foreseeable future” unless an owner were to come forward. Nason said he has investigated leads on possible owners for Granite to no avail. He said he found it difficult to believe that someone wasn’t wondering where Granite ran off to.

“I can’t imagine someone is not missing a cat like this,” Nason said. “It’s just a really friendly cat.”

Nason said Granite has no official rank in the department, but called her the department’s “official mascot.”

As most cats do, Granite has gotten into some mischief around the office. Gaudet chalked that up to “kitten-like behavior.”

“She’s got the run of the place,” he said. “She got into the chief’s office once and knocked some papers over.”


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