A cat called "Room 8"

 I recently read a story about a cat named Room 8. This story really touched me and decided to share it with you.

This amazing story began in the fall of 1952 in elementary school, Elysian heights, California. The huge striped cat entered in the middle of the lesson, quietly sat down in it and started to bring himself up. The cat was lean and hungry, and the teacher was allowed to give him milk. After sitting on the classroom half a day, the cat majestically up and walked away. The next day the cat came back to school, and again through the day... When it became clear that he was going to come constantly, he was given the name of Room 8, in honor of the Cabinet, he went first.

Since that memorable day the cat became a familiar... in the Summer the school was closed for the holiday, and the cat stopped coming. And in the following September came again, and methodically every day attended classes. Slowly the fame of the Room 8 went beyond Los Angeles, then California, and then across America. Journalists constantly came to Elysian heights, especially in the fall to check: will the cat this year or not. By the way, nobody knows where the cat was gone in the evening, and which left in the summer.

Room 8Room 8 became a legend and the disciples had more honorary positions than feeding the cat. This position came up with the teacher, and to her cat all the students, which led to problems with excess weight. And since the main rule was "don'T bother the cat," had to introduce one more post: shifter sleeping cat. The cat moved only in extreme cases where without this it was impossible to conduct a lesson.

If you open the old photo albums Elysian heights at the time, but almost all shared photos of classes (from approximately 1952 to 1967) the cat definitely will sit in the place of honor in the middle. As the official mascot of the school, the cat even left for posterity prints of their feet in wet cement in front of the building (in the presence of many journalists, and not without the help of the teachers :)). Many years later, guitarist Leo Kottke will see those prints, learns the history of their appearance and write an instrumental "Room 8".

Time passed, and the cat began to grow old. in 1963 he suffered in a fight, and in 1964 became seriously ill with pneumonia. It became clear that he needs to care not only during the day and one of the teachers, Virginia Nakano, offered his house as a "night". The day the cat still went to school, and in the evening went to her house across the street. And when it was harder to walk, the staff at the school wore it back and forth.

In 1968, the Room 8 died at a respectable age of 22 years. He was honored with his own grave and three column obituary in the Los Angeles times.

On the school website now has a page devoted to Room 8.