You are about to fall head over heels in love with a cat — his name is Tombi.
Last month, an adorable orange cat named Tombi showed up on the grounds of an elementary school in Turkey. The stray cat was different than others in the area; instead of being scared and skittish, Tombi was very friendly and loved walking up to the kids for pets and attention.
Students and faculty had gotten used to Tombi hanging around the school’s garden, but it wasn’t long before the friendly cat decided he’d like to make himself a bit more comfortable. So, Tombi first gave the third-grade classroom a go.
“He came into our classroom,” teacher Özlem Pınar Ivaşcu told The Dodo. “The children liked him very much.”
Like he was supposed to have been there all along, Tombi became a fixture in Mrs. Ivaşcu’s class.
Many people might think that having a live animal in the classroom would be distracting, but Mrs. Ivaşcu has found that it’s actually had the opposite effect. The children have become excited to come to class, and instead of horsing around during breaks, they’ve been calmer and more focused.
“The children come on time to school, and they are taking care of Tombi,” Ivaşcu said. “This is good for them.”
Not only were the children thriving, but so was Tombi; he had a safe place to eat and sleep, with lots of love and affection. Mrs. Ivaşcu even took him to the vet for a check-up and vaccines.
After a few weeks of living the life, Tombi’s stay in the classroom threatened to come to an end.
A parent caught wind that a stray cat was in wandering around the school and lodged a complaint. They were saying that it posed a health risk, and administrators sided with the parent — Tombi had to leave.
“We found a home for Tombi and he stayed three days there, but he was not happy. He stopped eating,” Mrs. İvaşcu said. “So I took him in at my house, but also here he was not very happy.”
Realizing that the cat was becoming even more depressed, Mrs. İvaşcu took to social media for help — Tombi’s story spread like wildfire.
“The story got a lot of attention and support on all TV news,” Mrs. İvaşcu said. “I had a lot of support from many people, including from my manager and the director of education in İzmir.”
Thankfully, all of the support paid off. Even the parent who had lodged the complaint had a change of heart — she wanted to have the orange kitty back in the classroom. It seemed obvious to everyone that the cat seemed happiest with the kids.
“The children were very happy to have Tombi back,” Mrs. İvaşcu said. “And he is happy again to be with the kids.”
Tombi’s story has touched the hearts of people all across the world. However, the most emotional connection of all is with the 33 children in the classroom; Tombi’s presence makes a positive and uplifting change in their daily routine.
Ever since Tombi’s story circulated the internet, a grassroots campaign in Turkey has been calling for all classrooms to have a cat of their own.
Please SHARE this with your friends and family.
