Article published November 26, 2007

King of the jail: Cat finds home at detention center

Every city has its jailbirds. Spartanburg has its own jail cat. J.C. - Jailhouse Cat - moved into the administrative office at the Spartanburg County Detention Facility as a kitten in July 2006 and quickly found a loving, if unusual home.

At night, the Siamese sleeps in the employee weight room, where his food and litter box are kept, and by day he roams the office, playing hide-and-seek and receiving plenty of visitors.

"He's been a good cat," said Hope Byers, the jail's senior administrative assistant. "He hasn't caused any trouble or problems or anything like that, and we've had a lot of positive feedback. A lot of officers have said, 'When I have a stressful day, I'll take my five-minute break and come back here and play with him.'"

J.C. has no contact with the inmates, wears nail covers to protect the furniture and is put away when drug dogs or people with allergies stop by. Employees pay for all his needs with their personal money and have bought him more than a dozen outfits, including bat wings for Halloween, a Thanksgiving outfit and a snowman suit. Last week, the furry feline got into the Christmas spirit with a red and green jester's collar and, later, a Santa suit, as he strolled atop the highest office cabinets.

J.C.'s journey to the jail began after the wife of facility Director Larry Powers found the kitten under her car and couldn't locate the owner. Powers brought him to work in hopes his office workers would take him home.

"The next morning he was still here, and I said, 'are you going to take the cat home?' And they said, 'Well, we were going to talk to you about that.' So they conned me into keeping him," he said.

For first-time visitors, finding a cat in a jail can be a surprise, said detention secretary Lana Taylor.

"Strangers come in and say, 'Did I see a cat?!'"

But most fall in love with J.C. Attorneys and police officers stop by the office to see him, and some detention officers take time to play-wrestle with him (watch out - he can get frisky). But on the whole, he's mild-mannered and simply spoiled.

"He thinks he's the king of the jungle around here," Byers said.