Published Sep 8, 2025
Sorapop Udomsri / Shutterstock.com
It’s back-to-school time, and while kids return to classes for a new year, we won’t be surprised if some cats show up, too!
And in one case, a cat’s mistaken identity caused a ruckus and comedy of errors at a school in the Pacific Northwest.
An elementary school in Moses Lake, Washington, went into emergency lockdown in the late morning when someone reported seeing a mountain lion in the area. As it turned out, the mysterious feline was just a fat orange house cat who was dining on a rat outside the school! (Oops).
Well, it was an honest mistake. While the incident caused momentary alarm, it gave all the kids at Groff Elementary School a funny story to tell their parents when they got home.
“While we take all reports seriously, this was the first report we’ve ever had of this nature,” Claren McLaughlin, the school district’s public information officer, told KHQ news.
One commenter on a Facebook post said she lives right by the school, and that the plump hunter is her neighbor’s large orange cat named George. Many people responded with funny comments about this new local celebrity in the Moses Lake community, about 175 miles southeast of Seattle.
“Welp, George is famous now,” one woman wrote. “He needs a fan page: the cat who made a school lockdown.”
A man wrote: “It looks like George ate the mountain lion, so he saved the day.”
Aww, George may be plump, but he’s nowhere near the size of a mountain lion! These big felines, also called pumas or cougars, range from 5 to 8 feet long and have tawny-brown hair. Adult male mountain lions weigh on average 140 pounds – way larger than even the biggest housecat.
We hope that George has a loving home, and that the cat’s humans will keep him inside now.
Whether on rodent patrol or for some other reason, many cats have found their way onto school campuses, and they sometimes become beloved mascots among students. In July, we published the story about a Scottish cat named Kiki who is so attached to her human boy that she follows him to school every day!
Kiki is a finalist in the National Cat Awards, sponsored by the British charity Cats Protection. Voting is closed on the cat candidates in several categories, and the winners will be announced in a star-studded awards ceremony in London on September 24. I will be tuning in and cheering on every deserving cat that was nominated, regardless of which ones win.
Cats Protection / Youtube.com
Some cats, like Raul and Carl, even become therapy animals at schools. Raul, a Birman, stood out to his human, Sarah Morr, when he was a super friendly kitten that didn’t seem to be spooked by anything. She got Raul certified as a therapy animal, and soon, he was visiting an elementary school where he would help kids read! Raul helped the kids by keeping them company while they read, and helping them learn to express themselves with the help of a counselor.
Morr then got another cat, Carl, who teamed up with his brother to make a dynamic duo of school therapy cats. Raul has since retired and is enjoying life. You can follow these amazing cats on Instagram at @raulthetherapycat.
raulthetherapycat / Instagram.com
Indeed, a recent study from Washington State University found that cats can be just as good as dogs as therapy animals. The study’s author said that in Europe, where therapy cats are more common than in the U.S., many owned cats visit college campuses regularly and mingle with students, who come to view the felines as unofficial campus cats.
So for those who are going back to school, we wish you delightful encounters with a cat!
