The cat that runs City Hall

It’s a regular Tuesday night at East Helena’s City Hall as the City Council discusses the latest police reports, the need for new trash trucks, and the necessities of small town governance.

Suddenly, a quiet ripple passes through the room. Eyes turn to the entrance, where a tabby cat with large white paws is peering through the doorway. “He’s back,” Mayor Kelly Harris sighs.

Standing up with the bemused air of someone who is used to the role of cat wrangler, Public Works director Kevin Ore strides towards the cat – who turns tail and streaks down the hall.

When Ore reappears some 15 minutes later he’s almost out of breath. “I could have used some help, Ed,” he tells officer Ed Royce, acting police chief since Mike Sanders’ December retirement. Royce laughs and shrugs like he’s done his quota of cat catching for the week.

The cat, known around City Hall as Tommy Toebeans, first began visiting in September. No one knows how he first broke in, but the city clerks theorize that he sneaks in through a door left open by a weekly boxing class.

Tommy inspires a warm exasperation and delight in most staffers and visitors. “He doesn’t ask permission, he begs forgiveness,” says Amy Thorngern, City Clerk Treasurer. “We love him.”

There’s some disagreement about how the feline intruder got his name. The clerks say the police officers named him, while the deputies point to the administration office. What is certain is that his first name came from a rumor heard by city clerks that it might be his name and Toebeans references his rare and distinctive six-clawed paws.

Tommy’s a polydactyl cat, with extra toes due to a genetic trait. Sailors believe them to be good luck, and better hunters. But you won’t find many sailors around City Hall, so who knows.

Along with his regular City Council meeting appearances, Tommy is known to crash court proceedings, hop in on exercise classes in the gym, and once took a four-hour nap in former police chief Sanders’ chair.

Often found bouncing between the different City Hall offices, he’s fond of putting his forelegs around city clerks’ necks in what can best be described as a hug.

“He’s a social butterfly,” Thorngern said. “He usually shows up when we have a lot of people in the building, and
he’ll position himself right in the middle of the people so he can get more pets.”

Tommy’s friendliness, widely seen as his greatest charm, also gets him into trouble. According to Officer Kevin Butler, Tommy was once catnapped by some well meaning Helena folk who thought he might be a stray. But upon arrival at a Helena residence, Tommy was reportedly so visibly upset at being taken out of East Helena that the cat thieves quickly brought him back.

“East Helena is just a town, and regardless of what anybody thinks, he runs this town,” said Butler, who often writes his evening reports with Tommy stretched across his shoulders.

Mayor Harris, who says he is allergic to most animals, including cats, is not immune to the kitty’s charms. “I’m not anti-Tommy,” Harris said, “[But] there is an ordinance where all domestic animals should be kept under control, so I do have concerns.”

Harris admits that those concerns rank low on his priority list. As long as Mr. Toebeans keeps from being a true nuisance, East Helena’s mayor is fine with more urgent issues and other rulebreakers taking precedence over sending the furry rogue home.

But where exactly is his home? Tommy’s mugshot regularly appears on the East Helena Community Facebook page, where locals note his friendliness and wonder if he’s lost or missing.

With The Monitor on the case, a few City Hall staffers suspected he lived somewhere on Main Street near City Hall. With the help of Utility Clerk Briona Shipman finding contacts through water bills, The Monitor tracked down Tommy’s owner: Jeff Hopper.

“Oh, Jesus,” Hopper said when he heard of Tommy’s town hall escapades. “I’m not surprised. He thinks everyone is a friend. He doesn’t know any enemies.”

Hopper moved from Missoula to East Helena about two years ago to be with Kristin Mullen, the woman he calls his wife. They were never legally married, but fell in love after thirty years of friendship. “We had an amazing six months,” he explained, “and then she got diagnosed with pancreatic cancer.”

She passed away last year, leaving Hopper with her French bull dog mix, Burro. But without Mullen, Hopper felt his home wouldn’t be complete without a feline.

He looked for months before finding Tommy. It was love at first meow. “I walked in. We made eye contact.
He had all them toes just sticking out of the air,” Hopper said. “I had to.”

He named his new cat Rugen, after the sadistic six-fingered count in the classic comedy The Princess Bride. He had no idea he had adopted such a cuddler and a free spirit.

“When I first picked him up, the whole idea was to make him an indoor cat,” said Hopper, who built a cat door in his garden window with steps for Rugen. “He destroyed three screens on my windows, and I gave up. I had to let him outside.”

This is how Rugen became the cat that has the run of East Helena City Hall. Hopper said he worries Tommy might one day climb into someone’s car and be whisked away. Thus far, though, he’s always made it home – so he’s still free to roam.

If you see Rugen Tommy Toebeans on the corner of Main and Montana, feel free to pet him. And don’t worry – he’s exactly where he’s meant to be.