Cats try to shed their rep for being aloof by aiding inmates

Cats have long struggled with their reputations as insensitive animals -- preoccupied by their own concerns and generally standoffish. At least that's what Eleanor Varnell, superintendent of minimum security Larch Corrections in Vancouver, Wash., thought of them -- until her son's own cat made a determined effort to win her over. Thus swayed, she set up a program at the prison she administers, and now, felines Princess Natalie and Clementine are hard at work winning the hearts of Larch's prisoners. "Animals bring out the best in people," said inmate Joey Contreras, who takes care of Princess Natalie. It's a win-win for the cats, too -- Princess Natalie, who had been beset by behavioral problems, might have been put down if not for the prison program.