Tenders, the famed brown and white tabby who takes shelter on the UF Tolbert Area, returned home protected after being discovered 4 miles away at Cabana Bay residences Thursday.
At 1:56 p.m. Thursday, she was retrieved by Emma Van Riper, a 21-year-old UF political science junior; Eden Kershner, a 20-year-old UF supplies science and engineering sophomore; and Dr. Tina Tallon, a UF College of the Arts professor.
After looking the wilderness surrounding the residence complicated, the three ultimately discovered Tenders by contacting the residence’s entrance desk. A resident had taken in and notified the residence of a stray cat she discovered wandering the residence’s premises the evening prior.
To the luck of her rescuers, that cat was Tenders.
Ines Aviles-Spadoni, a analysis coordinator at UF who’s behind the Instagram account Campuskittiesfl, turned conscious of the matter Thursday morning after receiving two messages from involved people.
She then started spreading the phrase to different folks concerned within the campus cat neighborhood. Along with a YikYak publish imploring college students to examine on Tenders, phrase started to flow into concerning the cat’s unknown whereabouts.
Because Tenders has no proprietor, Aviles-Spadoni mentioned she will be able to’t report the incident to native authorities.
“[Tenders] could be very confused,” Aviles-Spadoni mentioned. “She could’ve been killed because she was in a place she didn’t know. She’s used to UF. Trying to get home she could’ve gotten run over.”
UF assistant professor Tina Tallon instantly drove to the residence complicated after listening to the information of Tenders’ disappearance.
The search hit near home. Last yr, she adopted a campus cat from the Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering space named Willy, after discovering out he wanted medical consideration and was appropriate to be an indoor cat. The adoption course of was not a fast one — relocating neighborhood cats will be extraordinarily harmful, she mentioned.
“When I adopted Willy I did so after long conversations with Ines,” Tallon mentioned. “I took many measures to help him transition to being indoors as it can be incredibly stressful for cats who’ve lived their entire lives outside.”
Emma Van Riper, one other one in all Tender’s rescuers, mentioned the cat appeared to be unshaken by the incident — in addition to a number of ‘meows’ expressed on the automotive journey home.
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“She seemed confused but not distressed,” Van Riper mentioned. “She is incredibly sweet and trusting because of how many people she interacts with on a daily basis.”
Devon Limcangco, a 23-year-old UF electrical engineering senior, runs the Instagram account Gatorcats.
As the self-proclaimed spokesperson for campus cats, Limcango updates followers on vet visits, security throughout hurricanes and different day-to-day kitty actions.
She mentioned she was alarmed to listen to Tenders had been lacking from the Tolbert Area, which has been her home for about seven years.
“If someone was that concerned with caring for her or taking care of her for her own health,” Limcango mentioned, “they would have safely put her in the carrier.”
While she was lacking, many involved UF college students, college and alumni took to social media to repost.
“I know a lot of other students at the University of Florida love her,” Limcango mentioned. “She’s sort of like our mascot. She’s everyone’s emotional support pet.”
Eddie Penney, a 21-year-old UF anthropology senior, found Tenders was lacking via Instagram. While residing close to the Tolbert Area Summer 2021, he mentioned he would go by her on daily basis on his return to his dorm from class.
“She was always so friendly and sweet,” Penney mentioned. “It was free therapy for me.”
Community cats will be recognized by a clipped left ear tip that exhibits they’ve been trap-neuter-returned, in line with the cat advocacy group, Alley Cat Allies. This is a technique that manages populations of feral cats by live-trapping, neutering, clipping an ear for identification then releasing them.
Contact Bonny Matejowsky at [email protected]. Follow her on X @bonnymatejowsky.
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Bonny Matejowsky is a third-year journalism main and a Fall 2023 Avenue Reporter. When she’s not writing, you’ll find her thrifting or watching Twin Peaks.
