Where are you, my friend?
During the whole Covid19 situation, a lot of students have been feeling lonely. As for me, during one of these lonely nights, I wondered how my little friend from University was doing: the University Cat. This article is a call to him, as it seems that he is lost and nowhere to be found…
Oh, how I miss the times walking to the Harmony and coming across him. Welcoming as always, he would be standing there, ready to be petted. Anyone who has ever had classes at the Harmony building must surely know him: the University Cat. With an exhibition at the University Museum in 2018 and his own Instagram page, he might be the most famous cat in Groningen, stealing the hearts and attention of many students. By suddenly coming into a seminar for a quick cuddle, he has made our long and sometimes boring days at the Harmony a little bit more bearable.
Since I am obviously a big fan of this cat, of any cat really, I wondered how he has been doing these days. Does he still come to the Harmony every day, waiting for us to arrive? Or has he run off, saddened by not having any students around? What better way to find out than to just go look for him, right? Well, I have to say I came back from the Harmony more disappointed than ever. The University Cat was nowhere to be found. I screamed his name desperately, but despite some weird looks from random passengers, no answer came. Once being the one always present in class, he has now turned into that one student that’s always absent and of whom you are not sure whether he is even still alive. Where are you, my friend?
One can not get rid of me that easily and when at home I decided to stalk his Instagram account. He posts all kinds of pictures of himself there, committed to keeping his fans happy and hoping for more cuddles in return. Turned out he hasn’t been posting since the 14th of July, which is more than 2 months ago(!). I even sent a private message via Instagram to ask if he is ok. Up until today, I have gotten no response.
Maybe he turned elsewhere for attention since the University closed its doors. Will we ever see him again? Some advice from my side: whenever you are around the Harmony, look out for him. He might need your attention just as much as you need his! Let’s hope that the University Cat will be back again when we all return to physical education. Or should I say if we return to physical education?