A Problem-Solver and a Cat Named Murphy Brown

From The Aiken Standard

Submitted article

Don't call Ernie Wolf a perfectionist.

"Perfectionists go nuts," he said, "I strive to have excellence. I'm a problem-solver."

The problem was the limited space for the cats that came into the Aiken County Animal Shelter was reduced by the gift of an industrial washer and dryer.

Such a huge blessing is hard to complain about, but tell that to the cats who had to live in cages until their time was up, or they miraculously got adopted.

The ultimate solution was C.A.T.S. - Cats at the Shelter, a place for the adoptable cats and kittens funded by FOTAS.

We owe its design and execution to an unlikely pair: a not-so-recently retired, talented engineer and his recently deceased, ancient cat that he called "Murphy Brown."

In 1988, Ernie retired from Kimberly Clark as an engineering manager who'd begun with the company 40 years earlier "pulling a hand truck loaded with rolls."

He finished his career before turning 60, one of only two non-degreed engineers, with 19 engineers working for him. About that time, a friend retrieved a pregnant cat from a dumpster and gave Ernie and his wife one of the kittens.

For more than two decades, Murphy Brown was a devoted companion. As Ernie's wife battled cancer, Murphy visited and lifted her spirits with playful pats on her chest.

After his wife passed, Ernie had Murphy's company on his worktable as he repaired and built things. Never allowed on the furniture, she spent nights on Ernie's lap as he watched TV.

Murphy Brown died this spring as C.A.T.S. got under way, just in time to provide Ernie with added inspiration.

To develop his design, Ernie visited cat colonies as far away as Camden and Lexington. He appreciated the efforts he saw.

"They made the mistakes I was bound not to make," he said.

One of the colonies was battling problems with ventilation. Another had access issues.

"We can do better than this," he vowed and set to work.

Ernie began with a customized 12-foot-by-30-foot JEMCO building and added windows for natural light, including one over the sink in the center aisle that separates the female cats and kittens on the right from the males on the left. He had cat flaps inserted in the rear walls for access to the screened in concrete patios out back with an exterior patio door for humans.

A sidewalk wraps around to the front, and there is tile flooring, good ventilation and climate control for winter and summer.

There were materials to acquire: trades people to coordinate for framing, plumbing, electrical, handicap access, and landscaping and permit and inspection hurdles to clear.

Ernie oversaw every single detail in a project not devoid of frustrations. He finished C.A.T.S. under budget and dedicated it to his cat, Murphy Brown.

He calls himself a problem-solver, which he is, but when you visit C.A.T.S. at the county shelter, "perfect" is a word that may come to mind, at least until you remember that the cats all still need a home.

FOTAS works with the Aiken County Animal Shelter, 411 Wire Road. For more information, e-mail info@fotasaiken.org or visit www.fotasaiken.org.