Meow: Something Furry Is Going To Happen At Troy Police Dept.

TROY, MI – The cat's out of the bag. Well, sort of. The Troy Police tweeted a somewhat mysterious message alluding to the newest addition to the force: A feline officer.

The message: "Something big is happening this Friday. Hint, hint... #PoliceCat" Thus, it appears the department will be adopting its newest officer this week, though the spokeswoman for the department, Sgt. Megan Lehman, was playing it coy.

An event has been scheduled at the Troy Police Department on Friday, she said. The specific details of the event have not been made public, though. "We'll be interviewing some candidates," Lehman said.

That event comes after a challenge to the department in March, where if the department's Twitter account reached at least 10,000 followers, it would get a police cat. It hit that goal in mid-March and @TroyMI_Police now has more than 11,000 followers.

Once the cat joins the force, it will not be a full-time police cat, however.

"The cat will not actually live at the station," Lehman said. "It will have an owner."

The owner, she said will be a police dispatcher, who has a lot of experience with felines. The cat will make regular appearances at the Troy Police station. Ideally, the department wants cat "that can interact with the public," which presumably means gracing its social media pages.

However, actually having a cat in the station house is difficult, Lehman said. The building is big and open, and could be dangerous for a curious feline. Plus, there are some people with allergies, which could create a difficult relationship with the public.

Regardless, tune in Friday to see if there is a new feline in town.

Photo via Troy Police