Green Bay's 'Cat Grandpa' grabs the national spotlight on 'CBS Sunday Morning'

Green Bay's most famous catnapper got a little high-profile shut eye on national TV Sunday.

Terry Lauerman, who was dubbed "Cat Grandpa" after photos of him catching a few winks with the rescue cats at Safe Haven Pet Sanctuary went viral in 2018, got his own feature segment on "CBS Sunday Morning."

CBS correspondent Steve Hartman traveled to the cat cafe at 151 N. Broadway to tell the story of the 76-year-old retired teacher who volunteers there, brushing and cuddling cats — and, to their delight, dozing off with them on the couch.

Hartman's popular homespun weekly segment features uplifting and often tear-inducing stories of ordinary people making a difference. He called Lauerman, who is also a Norbertine brother at St. Norbert Abbey in De Pere, "a true godsend" and "a savior to the cat rescue."

Since Facebook photos of Lauerman nodding off with cats were picked up by Reddit, BuzzFeed and other outlets 16 months ago, Safe Haven founder Elizabeth Feldhausen (one of the Green Bay Press-Gazette's 2019 People of the Year) told Hartman he has helped to raise nearly $100,000 for the rescue that caters to cats with special needs and disabilities. He has inspired a "Cat Grandpa" calendar and even his own blend of coffee.

Nobody has been more surprised by his unlikely fame and impressive marketing power than Lauerman, who, as you might guess, is a self-described "cat person."

"Oh God, pet and brush cats and fall asleep?" he said. "And I should be world famous for doing this?"

Contact Kendra Meinert at 920-431-8347 or kmeinert@greenbay.gannett.com. Follow her on Twitter @KendraMeinert.

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