Students Should Be Able to Bring Their Cats to University
The results of this experiment, probably.
First-year students are asked to write a 500 word persuasive speech as a part of their first-term portfolios. The topic can be anything the writer wants. One writer chose to address a small but deeply personal injustice.
I am lonely.
This is how I feel at night when I am alone in my university accommodation without my cat. You see, I am very accustomed to sleeping with my cat curled up on the end of my bed. Aren’t all cat owners? So, why must we travel across the country to study – a move which is, quite frankly, terrifying – and be forced to leave our beloved fur babies behind? Can we really expect students to cope under these conditions without their pets?
I returned home the other day, and it broke my heart to find that my cat no longer sleeps on my bed. She has now made herself her own little nest, hidden in the depressing darkness at the back of my wardrobe. How upsetting to know that my cat now feels so cold and lonely without me that she has made herself a depression nest to seek comfort. How can landlords just let tragedies like this happen to students and cats all over the world?
Studies by researchers from the Swedish University of Agricultural Studies show that cats can develop separation anxiety and become stressed from changes in their routine. These changes don’t just include the absence of their owner, but also changes in feeding schedule and amount of attention they receive – which is inevitable when a student leaves home to go to university. If there is such clear evidence that situations like this are so stressful for cats, then why do we still allow this to happen?
The suggestion could be made that students should refrain from going to university in order to keep their pets more comfortable. This is, of course, possible, but could also be detrimental to their future. What if a university education is the only way that the student can feasibly provide for their cat? What if a lack of education means that they won’t have the finances to support themselves and their furry friends? What will they do then?
This is a time where we all need to come together in order to make this a better world for both students and for cats. The world is a big, scary place, and by encouraging landlords to allow pets, we are making that world seem a little bit smaller and a little less scary for everyone. If we can’t make life better for our cats, can we even hope to make life better for anyone else?
Think how it must feel to be that cat: their owner has suddenly left them behind for weeks at a time, returning only for weekends and holidays. Their safety net is gone, with no explanation. Where have they gone? Why have they left me? Will they ever come back? These thoughts must be running through cat’s minds every day, and it’s NOT ok for us to stand aside and allow this inner torment to happen to them. People of Falmouth University, we must unite. The time to improve the quality of all our lives is meow!
by Alice Farley