K is for Kitten Klass

Welcome to my posts for the A to Z Challenge 2016.

This year, I am posting 

Special School Stories

 tales from either my time as a teacher or teaching assistant within classrooms in the U.K. or from my own school days growing up around the country

I’m a cat lover – pure and simple and I can hone in on a cat from 100 paces.  Which is why one morning (out to collect the class from the playground) I heard a cry which could only mean one thing a cat in trouble!  Telling the class to wait quietly, I scrambled up the embankment and through the fence and into the parkland above.  Another pitiful cry led me to a bush where a six week old, lonely black kitten with white muzzle and paws lay underneath quite eager to scramble towards my outreached hand.  I snuggled it up in my jacket and descended back onto the playground. 

“Thank you, children,” I smiled and we walked into the school with the children none the wiser of what I held.

Once inside, a cardboard box from the art store and a jumper that had been in the lost property box for ever were quickly brought into play to make a makeshift house for kitty whilst a desk tray with torn up newspaper made an instant cat litter receptacle.  The kitten was introduced to the children who were very careful and quiet as instructed.  Luckily for me, my teacher co-worker was another cat lover and so I sneaked all said things plus kitten into the staffroom where I knew no-one would be going (definitely NOT the headmaster) until morning break.

The children were all as good as gold and we kept kitty a class secret up until morning break when I sped off to see how things were in the staffroom before others arrived.  Kitty had been excellent and a bit of torn up ham from my lunch sandwich was quickly gobbled up.  Now I needed to keep Kitty from the attention of the Head and at lunchtime go and knock on the doors of houses surrounding the park which I duly did but no-one had any news about where the kitten might have come from.  Back in the staffroom, one of the teachers was already smitten with the little one and thought she could probably work on her husband to agree to giving the kitten a home if I could just look after it for the weekend.  So that is why for a weekend my own children and I kept the kitten a secret from my husband (who would have gone up the wall if he had known I had brought yet another cat home!!) and on Monday he went to his new home and became a much loved pet.

Now it’s your turn to let me know what animals you have rescued, kept hidden or had in school as pets?  Share your stories below in the comments box.  You know I’d love to know : - )