Cat who helps south Warwickshire primary school pupils could be named 'cat of the year'

Cilla beat hundreds of other entries and has been named as a finalist in the Cats Protection’s National Cat Awards 2024 as one of three contenders in the Connected Cats category, celebrating cats who bring communities together.

The 12-year-old moggy was selected as a finalist in recognition of the positive impact she has on the 400 children at Outwoods Primary School in Atherstone.

Sally Taylor, 54, headteacher at Outwoods, said: “Cilla, with the job description of princess, is first on our staff list and praised in our Ofsted reports.

"She’s integral to the school and always intuitive to when stressed staff and anxious children need her.

"During our week of SATs tests in May, she waited in the hall every morning for the Year 6 pupils to arrive. Stroking her calmed them down before their tests.

“I was deputy headteacher when Cilla started turning up, thin and hungry, six years ago.

"Our headteacher Beverley Dandy, a cat lover, took her to the vet’s practice next door. Cilla was microchipped but her owners could no longer look after her.

"Outwoods has been her home ever since.

“Cilla has six beds around the school including two in her favourite place, the library.

"Sometimes children come into school early to sit with her and read.

"One year, on her birthday (which we’ve decided is school sports day) we shared an Amazon Wish List with her 25,000 Twitter friends and Cilla, who tweets daily, received £5,000 worth of books from people around the world, restocking the whole library.

“Nights, she sleeps in one of the classrooms, with a cat flap so she can come and go.

"Every morning when I arrive she’s waiting to greet me which gets my day off to a lovely start.

"Then she hangs out with the pupils, in classes, during breaks and on the football pitch during matches.

"She is a friend to everyone, even our caretaker Andy’s Old English Sheepdog. We all love her so much.”

Cilla will now go through to a public vote which runs until August 30 at: www.cats.org.uk/nca

Category winners and the overall National Cat of the Year – which is chosen by a panel of judges – will then be announced during a ceremony in London on September 18.

Cats Protection’s National Cat Awards, organised by the UK’s largest cat charity, is an annual celebration of the real-life stories of heroism, loyalty and companionship, showing life is better with cats.

Cats Protection’s marketing and income generation director Catherine Cottrell said: “Cilla is inspiring a whole new generation of cat lovers.

"It’s wonderful how committed the school staff, pupils and parents are to her care with bags of treats in Sally’s office, cat nip bananas scattered about the school corridors and a rota of eager visitors caring for her over weekends and holidays.

!Every school needs a Cilla.”

Category winners will each win a prize package of a trophy, a £200 pet store voucher and a year’s subscription to Cats Protection’s The Cat magazine with the National Cat of the Year also receiving an overall winner trophy.