LANGLEY — Langley City Council meetings have been known to draw big crowds. But in recent months, a four-legged spectator has joined the audience as Langleyites learn about planning and development issues — especially when Fred Evander, Langley’s junior planner, is the speaker.

No matter how many people crowd the council chamber for a presentation, as soon as Evander opens his mouth four little paws sneak down the stairs. Randy, the city’s newest mascot cat, wouldn’t miss one of Evander’s speeches.

As soon as her buddy steps up to the podium, Randy rushes past the many sets of legs, hops up on the council’s desk and claims the best seat in the house.

Once she realizes that Evander is focused on planning guidelines or code changes and not the next bowl of Meow Mix, the slightly disappointed feline zig zags through the rows of chairs as many pairs of hands try to pet her. Skillfully, Randy dodges them all to return to a more quiet corner of city hall.

Her brief appearances, however, are sometimes the highlights of the meeting.

The special friendship amuses Evander’s co-workers.

“She loves Fred,” said Debbie Mahler, Langley’s clerk/treasurer.

“She’s Fred’s cat,” added Nancy Gastony, the front desk manger.

Assistant clerk Marlyne Ray said Evander’s voice is music to Randy’s ears. When he greets people downstairs in the morning when he arrives at the office, Randy rushes to welcome him.

“She’ll be bird-watching and as soon as she hears him, she runs downstairs,” Ray said.

Evander, a self-proclaimed cat person, said when he started working at the city he thought Austin, the city’s first feline, could use a friend.

“When I got the job here, Austin was the main kitty. When Paul (Samuelson) took office, the staff said we wanted another kitty.”

So Mahler and Evander paid the WAIF shelter a visit.

“I was the one who picked her out,” Evander said.

And Randy seems to know it.

“She’s a cuddler,” Evander said.

Cats at city hall aren’t anything new, though. For the past 12 years, Austin has lived at city hall.

He moved in when he was only two days old. Mahler’s son had found abandoned kittens in his shed one freezing morning, and Austin was the sole survivor. At 7 a.m., Mahler’s son knocked on her door, holding his hand out with the tiny kitten in it.

“Mom…” he said with a pleading look on his face.

“I couldn’t just leave him, so I brought him with me to work,” Mahler recalled.

When she arrived with the little ball of fur at city hall, the staff chipped in and they bought a warming lamp and a feeding bottle.

“Everybody gathered up money for a kitty feeding bottle,” Mahler recalled. “Between Marlyne and I we fed him every two hours, day or night.”

Mahler and Ray carefully monitored the kitten’s weight.

“We used to weigh him on the postage scale everyday. He was so tiny,” Mahler said.

Austin, now considered a senior, is not always sure what to make of the new arrival.

Much more introverted than Randy, he retreats to the supply closet when things get too hectic.

But when only their city hall family is around, the cats are known to be very friendly.

“It’s neat,” Ray said. “It’s one of the neat things about Langley.”

“It’s more like home,” Mahler said. “You’re working hard and in the middle of the day, they come by and show you some love.”

“Sometimes sitting right on top of your work,” Ray added.

Evander said having the cats around has its perks.

“Everybody likes the cats,” he said.

“When I first interviewed for the job, it felt more like a bookstore than city hall because it had a cat running around,” Evander recalled.

And what the city of Langley has known for years — pets are stress relievers and help increase productivity — the trend is now reflected in the dog-eat-dog world of business.

In a recent nationwide survey, the American Pet Products Manufacturers Association found the solution to easing corporate nerves and enhancing office efficiency was placing a pet in the work environment. Having pets in the office created a more productive work environment in 73 percent of the participating companies.

Also of interest, 27 percent of the participating companies had a decreased absenteeism rate.

Randy doesn’t care what the statistics say, as long as she can hang out on Evander’s office chair and watch her buddy work, Evander said.

Michaela Marx Wheatley can be reached at 221-5300 or mmarxwheatley@southwhidbeyrecord.com.