It Takes A Lot Of Guts To Be A School Cat

By Chia Min Wen (25J20)

While the Good News Cafe looks completely different while awaiting renovations, it was contrasted by a new companion that has brought so much colour into our school lives! Let's learn more about RV's school cats and also meet Comot, our current school cat! Let's also take a look behind the scenes and meet the teachers who take care of her, as well as some students that spend their breaks with her!

Comot, relaxing near the GNC

In case you didn't know, Comot isn't our first school cat. The sec 4 and JC students might remember Manja, who was our previous school cat in 2022 before being adopted by our school alumni! When I saw a new cat in school after such a long time, it instantly piqued my interest. Before I knew it, I was seated at the GNC, asking Ms Candida Ho for all the details on our school’s new feline addition! 

As our school is situated in a mature estate, it is quite inevitable that community cats will venture into our school. The school used to call pest control companies on the cats, but the teachers realised that it was an ethical problem as this was a forceful, even traumatic removal. The teachers weighed the reasons to keep the community cats, citing how they can be therapeutic for students, build community spirit in school and how they could coexist with us instead of being removed. Therefore, our school started taking in cats with permission from the then Vice Principal and Principal. 

As the school has the safety of our students and cats as a top priority, we send cats that are sick, physically injured or aggressive to the vet. Only cats that are friendly, amicable and sociable that are willing to be touched and played with can be kept in school. Some of the school cats were eventually adopted by friends of school staff and alumni and it is encouraged as they are safer in a home environment than a school one. Comot is not the only cat the school takes care of, we also extend a helping hand to other cats that just come into school to be fed before leaving. To ensure the safety of the cats, a gate extension was built because there was a case where a cat was severely injured by stray dogs that came into school. Unfortunately, the school cannot do anything about external factors and can only control damage through protective measures. The school also plays a part in educating the students on how to take care of our school cats to keep the experience enjoyable for everyone!

There is a team of teachers that take care of our school cat, working hard behind the scenes to raise funds to buy food for our school cats, sharing information of their whereabouts and discussing if the cats need to be sent to the vet. They also manage the @cats.of.rv Instagram page which you can follow to learn more and see posts about our past, current and future school cats! Currently, the teachers are getting approval for cat education posters to be placed around the school for students to learn how to properly interact with Comot!

Comot from @cats.of.rv on Instagram

Our school’s Operating Support Officers, Mdm Giam and Mdm Fouziah are the primary people who take care of Comot, even coming back during the weekends and school holidays to feed and take care of her. They really go the extra mile to care for her! They are in charge of getting her microchipped and monitor her to ensure she does not go out of bounds and endanger herself. 

Just like we want to be treated a certain way, how should we, in turn, treat our school cat? First of all, we have to remember that hundreds of students play with Comot every day. We must remember that we have to respect her boundaries, and if you see signs that she is not willing to be social at the moment; for example, if she avoids contact with you and tries to leave, please move away from her as it would be better to limit interaction at the moment and leave her alone. Comot might get overwhelmed by the sheer amount of human contact she has daily, so listen to her body language. Secondly, when approaching her, we should lower our volume and approach her slowly so as to not startle her. You can greet her by reaching out your hand and letting her smell it, as it is a way for her to gather information about you and be comfortable before any interaction with you. If you would like to play with Comot, Mdm Fouziah has toys that you can borrow, like a string toy that Comot loves to chase!

Example of a string toy from Ubuy.com

Our school cat Comot, (pronounced Cho-mot) loves air conditioning just like us students and sometimes even goes into the school General Office and Library to enjoy some air-con! Comot is adorable and has really brightened the days of our students! Isabel from 25J15 often plays with Comot during her breaks, and she says that she “hopes Comot finds RV as her home” and that “Comot is the reason [she] looks forward to coming to school, especially on long school days” Comot brings the students positivity everyday to power through the longest school days and we really appreciate her presence in school! 

If you have any questions regarding the school cat, do feel free to approach Mdm Fouziah and Mdm Giam. Follow @cats.of.rv for updates!