CULLMAN, Ala. – There’s a new face on the campus of East Elementary, and it has made coming to school each day a little more exciting than usual for the students. Some might even say he is the teacher’s pet. His name is Cubbie, a handsome gray tabby and white kitty cat who has had no trouble making tons of new friends.
This friendly feline first appeared for school drop-off last Monday morning and Principal David Wiggins thought it would just be a one-day occurrence, but Cubbie, as the students call him, loved school so much, he has made it part of his daily activities.
“We’ve enjoyed having the cat around,” said Wiggins.
Cubbie isn’t the first cat to grace the halls at East. A Siamese named Muffin was a regular face on campus for several years but passed away many years ago. Muffin is buried on campus.
Wiggins explained, “When Cubbie showed up on Monday morning it was a little bit nostalgic and very exciting.”
The kitty’s owner was located and said she is tickled with Cubbie visiting the school.
“He is a daily fixture now and has been around for five days,” said Wiggins. “Now students and parents are bringing in food, toys and a cat bed. Kids are drawing pictures and making cards. They just love Cubbie.”
Brayden Clark, a sixth-grader at East, said, “Every morning when I walk into school, he lets me pet him. East Elementary takes very good care of him by giving him food and water every day. Everyone at East loves him. Every person I see when they walk into school, they pet him. We are so glad that we have Cubbie the Cat here at East.”
Fourth-grader Elliana Belcher said of Cubbie, “This cat is amazing and I really like having him around. I think Cubbie is the perfect East Beast cat. He greets the students in the morning and he’s very fluffy. It is a friendly greeting when I walk up to school. We should keep him around.”
“Cubbie is a nice and sweet cat,” said fifth-grader Aaliyah Brown. “Cubbie plays with us at recess. Cubbie is a gentle cat. Cubbie loves to cuddle and play with the kids.”
Ginny Moss, in the fifth grade, said, “My experience with Cubbie is amazing because my Gigi is allergic to cats and I am not allowed to have one. So, since we have Cubbie now, I technically have a cat now.”
Third-grader Graham Dean said, “Cubbie is helpful and entertains the kids. He represents our school. He makes kids consolable about COVID-19.”
Wiggins originally referred to the cat as Cub Cat, but his daughters weren’t happy with that and suggested Cubbie. When the second graders were asked how they felt about the name Cubbie, Wiggins said, “They took to it and they were hooked.”
Cubbie is not shy at all and by mid-week, he followed Wiggins inside to his office.
“He would sit down at the door and one day I asked him if he wanted to come in and he came in, followed me directly to the office and made himself at home. He explored everything and laid down in one of our office chairs, curled up, played on the carpet and then when the secretary and bookkeeper got here, they had their time with him,” he said. “This morning (Friday) he was walking on my desk while I was doing paperwork. He wants to go back out front before school because he gets the loving from, I would guess, 200 children.”
“I think we are co-parenting a cat at this point,” Wiggins smiled.
Cubbie plays many roles at the school. He follows the School Resource Officer as he walks around the campus and he plays with the kids on the playground.
Wiggins said, “If you see a small group of kids squatting down, that’s where Cubbie is at.”
The students are always wanting to know where Cubbie is. The students who live nearby have been seen riding bikes back to campus after school just to hang out with their new whiskered friend.
Cubbie has made a major impact on morale at the school, said Wiggins. “He has been a wonderful incentive for some of our students who have been nervous about coming to school some days or have sad mornings. It has been great for some teachers. They have been able to send me a text and find out where Cubbie might be. If one of our students has been having a sad morning for whatever reason, Cubbie has come to the rescue. He has been an absolute benefit to our student climate and our teacher climate, too, because everybody has been out to pet him at some point.”
Wiggins laughed, “He’s safety patrol in the morning. He will sit on that sidewalk and sit up and watch cars. When the car stops and the student gets out, he prances down to the student and gets him some loving. Then he walks back to the center until the next child gets out. Then, he walks up to them to get some more love. It is the cutest thing. I think he thinks he’s a person. I think Cubbie has us wrapped around his paw, so to speak.”
Cubbie has been a much needed ray of sunshine at the school, especially at a time when COVID-19 is a major concern.
“We are in a little world. We aren’t in the election world. We are in an elementary world and coronavirus is our challenge right now. Our no. 1 focus has become the social and emotional health and security of our students. In that, Cubbie has become part of the unwritten plan,” said Wiggins. “I come second to the cat now, and that’s fine by me. I am just tickled about how much he matters to our students and our school body.”
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