A kitten snuck into a school by mistake. No one imagined that he would be the best of the students.
Anyone who has or has had a blond kitten will tell you that there is nothing ordinary about these kittens. Undoubtedly, they know very well how to make themselves special and unique and Tombi’s case is no exception.
It is well known that cats have a very good reputation in Turkey. There are many kittens on the streets of Istanbul and we could say that there are as many amazing stories as there are kittens roaming around every corner of this city.
Tombi the kitten decided that he was very happy in the company of this group of students.
One of them, who is also the protagonist of this story, is called Tombi and he arrived by chance at a school. To be more precise, he settled in the classroom of some third graders, who never imagined that receiving this unique companion would become something so special.
Some stray cats can be really nervous or surly with people, but not Tombi. He entered this school in Izmir and felt so at home here that he set out to make it his new home.
It didn’t take long for the children to make him one of the class.
Özlem Pınar Ivaşcu, the teacher of this group of children, claims that when her students saw Tombi enter, they were interested in him. You could say it was love at first sight. The children loved the kitten and he seemed to be very much at home among his classmates.
However, not everything was rosy. The school administration was not entirely convinced that the idea of having a classroom pet was a good idea. They doubted that Tombi was entirely safe and thought he might transmit disease to the students.
So they began to insist that Tombi should go to a more suitable home. The children were saddened at the thought of having to say goodbye to their beloved pet, but there was no alternative. They found a good home for the cat, but something unexpected happened.
Tombi, who was always characterized as cheerful and willing, stopped eating. He spent three days in a frankly sad state, so teacher Özlem tried to take him home, where he was not very cheerful either.
Being away from his group of students made Tombi very sad.
However, it was not only Tombi who looked sad. The children also missed the cat. Özlem claims that the cat was never a distracting factor, on the contrary. The kitty’s presence helped some of the troubled students focus better on their homework and improve their learning.
“When he first joined our class,” Özlem explained, “I noticed a change in the children’s behavior. They were more careful and stopped running around in the classroom. They couldn’t wait to go back to school the next morning (which is remarkable for some 9-year-olds).”
Saddened by the loss of their beloved feline friend, Tombi’s classmates sent letters and drawings when they learned that their feline friend was not doing well in their absence.
Özlem is a dedicated teacher with a big heart. So she took it upon herself to make sure Tombi was reunited with the children who loved and missed him dearly.
The children sent hundreds of letters asking Tombi to come back.
Quickly, their story spread through social media, and soon after was picked up by a local news station.
After all the uproar and commotion, the school administration decided to back down and allow the cat to return “home,” to the school where he knew he belonged. Now they all form a truly exemplary group of students – including Tombi!
Özlem says Tombi made a difference in his students’ performance.
Did this story make you smile? Share it with someone who loves cats, just like you! The world needs more happy stories, and this is certainly one of them.
