Louie, the kitten, chased a squirrel into the tree. The squirrel escaped and left Louie in the tall branches to wonder what technique or strategy would better help him catch that pesky squirrel next time. Each trial and error in monitoring the squirrel's behaviors is Louie's investigative method of learning about his environment.

Louie was the last of the feral cat population and the only kitten who survived the feral cat relocation from our school site. He was an abandoned kitten who had no means to survive, found under the stairs after the health department and animal control left our facility. Our school family adopted Louie and bottle fed him when he was very small. Due to potential allergies or scratches by Louie and for the safety of the school children, I was able to bring Louie home to join my own family including three sons and three dogs.

How does this relate to investigation? Every essence of Louie's exploration at the school site and in our home and surrounding yard is through his varied methods of investigation. He did not have siblings or a parent cat to guide his way so his curiosity, trust of humans, and explorations allowed Louie to investigate all the new interactions he would experience with other creatures in his limited world. Louie systematically investigates utilizing all his senses - he detects movement, sights, sounds, textures and tastes. These on-going investigations give him an ever expanding world. We are happy to call this little detective a well developed family member.