As Vermont State University Castleton graduates receive their degrees this weekend, so too will a tabby cat. The cat, named Max, is getting an honorary degree as a "Doctor in Litter-ature."
Once a feral kitten in the town of Fair Haven, Max has lived with his human mom, Ashley Dow, on Seminary Street in Castleton for the past five years. And for most of those years, he’s been venturing up to the university campus.
Up there, Dow says Max likes to ride around on students’ backpacks, to pose as a subject for the college photography class, and to generally provide campus emotional support.
"At one point, because he stopped going up to campus, they put up a shrine for him," Dow says, laughing. "It had candles and everything. And the picture of Max that they had printed out and put in a frame."
Dow says students actively look out for Max, and protect him.
"Max was getting attacked by feral cats in the neighborhood. And I put up signs, because I was asking them, 'If you see Max out and about after five, could you bring him home?' And students did actually bring him home," she says. "Or they — they have my number, and I'll get text messages from random students, it's like, 'He's OK, he's up by the greenhouse,' and all of that. So yeah, it's been pretty interesting to be Max's mom."
In a post on Instagram, Vermont State University celebrated the now-named Dr. Max Dow '24, writing that he's receiving his degree “with a resounding purr of approval from the faculty.”
The commencement ceremony is scheduled for Saturday morning at 10:30 a.m.
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