DePauw’s campus has hidden gems known as the campus cats. Some of them you really have to look for, while others will come right up and rub against your leg. These cats bring such a warm and cozy feeling to students and allow for some healthy de-stressing. Research shows that cats indeed do relieve stress and even lower blood pressure. These cool cats make students and faculty happy all year long, so I thought they deserved a proper shoutout.
I had to try extra hard to snap a quick one of this cat. Because of her vibrant orange fur and blue eyes, I decided to name her Ariel. She lives outside of the Union building. There are bushes that allow her and friends to make the perfect home there. She is a bit shy, but obviously sassy with her little tongue sticking out at me. She is practically saying, “Ha-ha, you can’t catch me!” What a stinker.
I caught this cat sunbathing one afternoon. She is a bit timid but warmed up to me after a while. She is commonly known as Bubbles, but I think she looks so elegant, so she deserves a more sophisticated name. I picked out the name Soléne for her; it is French. I thought it was more fitting. Soléne also lives in the bushes outside of the Union Building with Ariel and another friend, but I wasn’t able to capture the other mystery cat.
I found this sweetheart living outside Warne Hall in Rector Village. She lives alone in a box that is between a few bushes. It seemed as if she is well fed due to all the empty tuna tins lying around her little house. I got her to come out of her cardboard house by giving her some chicken. She really liked that. I decided to name her Carmella because she looks like caramel and she was mysterious. Carmella has one broken ear and half of it is missing. Despite her bad past, Carmella was very loving and friendly.
Here is another photo of Carmella getting a little head scratch. She loved being scratched behind her ears and was doing this funny head tilt to make sure we scratched the right spot.
Lastly, this cat lives outside of my sorority house, Alpha Chi Omega. He is sneaky and has a temper. Sometimes we find him sitting on top of our cars or attempting to kill a squirrel. He has even snuck into the house a handful of times. The women in the sorority call him Nellie, after one of Alpha Chi Omega’s founders, although the men that live just behind the sorority call him Tommy. He is playful and flirty and will just lay on his back and wait for someone’s attention.
I wasn’t able to find all the cool cats on campus, but the ones I did meet were such a pleasure. Keep your eye out for these furry friends!