College cats of Oxford

Once upon a time, we featured an image of Magdalen's kitten, Ozymandias, in our newsletter. We figured it might be a gentle contrast to our regular diet of planning and local politics.

The grey ball of fluff with blue steel eyes proved so popular that we got repeated requests for more Ozymandias content. But just as we aim to give an airing to all Oxford’s political parties, so too do all the college cats of Oxford deserve equal billing with Ozymandias.

We have even made you a cat map (mainly because we liked the name). Don't go cat-napping them, they're precious. We hope it cheers up your wintry week. We have a feline this may be our best article yet.

Christ Church: Meadow & Alice

Christ Church has two petite cats, Meadow and Alice. When the weather is fine they can often be seen exploring Tom Quad, the largest quadrangle; at colder times they nap in the luggage room.

Meadow, the black-and-white cat, takes her name from Christ Church Meadow – the wide stretch of floodplain grassland that’s a favourite picnic spot for many Oxford residents. Alice, the tortoiseshell, is named after the beloved character created by Lewis Carroll. Carroll (whose real name was Charles Lutwidge Dodgson) was a Mathematics tutor at Christ Church and lived there for much of his life. They have an Instagram account, @meadowandalice.

Exeter: Walter de Staplecat

Walter de Staplecat (@walter_the_exeter_cat) lives at Exeter College, and is named after the college founder Walter de Stapledon. He arrived at the college in 2020 when his then owner brought him in to keep her company in lockdown. When they left the college, Walter stayed; he has since become a solid, high-profile figure at Exeter. As honorary feline he likes to spend time in the Rector's Garden or, if the sun is shining, finding a sunny spot in the front quad. Rumours always go around about Walter’s personal life, but he's a very solitary cat and likes his own company. (He has, however, been known to accept Dreamies and scritches.)

Hertford: Simpkin IV

Hertford’s Simpkin is the fourth in the Simpkin dynasty, and has been with the college since January 2017. He came to Hertford as a rescue cat after being abandoned in Devon. Simpkin isn’t known for being warm and cuddly. He values his personal space, but he has graciously adopted a few people and places. Clearly a studious type, he’s most likely to be found in the Academic Office or the Library.

Hertford is, of course, on Catte Street. In the 15th Century this was also known as Mousecatchers’ Lane, or Vicus Murilegorum.

Mansfield: Basil, Beatrice, & Ziggy

Mansfield College has three cats: Basil, Beatrice and the Principal’s cat Ziggy. The college says: “Basil and Beatrice were both adopted from Cats Protection in 2019 and are uncle and niece. Their names are inspired by figures from our Chapel's stained-glass windows. They look very similar but the best way to tell them apart is by Basil's little nick in his left ear. Baz and Bea love our students and offer cuddle sessions during term time.” They also feature in the college's Instagram account.

New College: Balthasar

Balthasar has been prowling around New College for around two years and has certainly made his mark – despite not strictly being a college cat. But although he lives with his owners nearby, Balthasar has claimed New College as his own, roaming around the gardens and preening in any sunny spot he can find. In true cat fashion, he’s beautiful and he knows it.

St Hilda’s: Teabag

Teabag arrived at St Hilda’s in late 2014, and was adopted by the Lodge, which she has been running ever since. She was named Teabag as there was a grey cat named Earl Gray wandering about at the time – the father of her kittens, which she had in the Lodge. (It all happened rather quickly, and she is now spayed!)

Carrying herself like an Egyptian god with emerald-green eyes, Teabag likes going out for walks in the gardens. She is particularly keen on exploring the river pathway in college, from where she enjoys watching punters and ducks, chasing butterflies and feathers on sticks, and getting into (gentle) fights with the other feline residents. You can find Teabag on instagram here and here.

St John’s: Baylie, Case, & Laud

St John's has three college cats who arrived in November 2023. After a college-wide request for suggestions, they were named after William Laud, Archbishop of Canterbury, and President of St John’s between 1611 and 1621; Richard Baylie, twice President, and twice Vice-Chancellor of the University; and John Case, a former scholar and Fellow. To tell them apart:

• Case is sleek, black and white, with a kink at the end of his tail and a little Charlie Chaplin moustache. He will happily chat with you and curl up on your lap if you sit on a garden bench.
• Laud is more grey in colour, fluffy and has a huge bushy brush of a tail. He is more likely to run away from you, unless you have food.
• Baylie has a little brown nose, lots of white on his tummy and mackerel-like stripes down the side. He is the character likely to approach you in the bar and demand attention.

LMH: Isambard Kitten Brunel and Benny D Cat

Not many college cats have been immortalised in a book by a Nobel Prize laureate, but the LMH librarian’s cat – Isambard Kitten Brunel – features in LMH alumna Malala Yousafzai's book Finding My Way:

“There were no other students or even staff in the room, just the brindle-coated library cat stretching out in the sun.”

He shares the college’s affections with Benny D Cat, whose name echoes the Latin grace said at Formal Hall. They have an Instagram where you can view them in all their glory.

St Hugh’s: Admiral Flapjack and Professor Biscuit

St Hugh’s has a ginger cat, Flapjack, and a tabby, Professor Biscuit. They seem to be excellent at photo ops if their Instagram is anything to go by. If you know any more about them, do clue us in.

Univ: Lyra

Arguably the oldest college in Oxford, Univ's resident cat is Lyra, succeeding Clement Cattlee, after Clement Attlee, an alumnus of the college. Their Instagram shows her sunbathing, and living her best life greeting visitors in the quad. It's a hard life.

Green Templeton: Vincent

The Radcliffe Observatory, topped with a statue of Atlas holding up the heavens, towers over Jericho rooftops. Make no mistake: the true centrepiece of Green Templeton College (GTC) is an ink black cat named after a different tragic hero. Like his post-Impressionist artist namesake, Vincent is missing a chunk of his left ear. Unlike van Gogh, four-legged Vincent lost, shall we say, a bit(s) more than his ear under Oxford's Trap Neuter Release programme during his wild youth. A semi-retired stray, Vincent is often found on the cobblestones of Lankester Quad, or on the wall behind the Lodge or Fellowship House, basking in occasional sunlight and constant affection of GTC students and staff. (Thank you to Adam Koling for this content.)

Jesus: no cat

There has been no cat at Jesus since the 1950s. Perhaps this is understandable, as a cat killed the Principal, Joseph Hoare, in 1802. According to the college archives:

“Hoare’s death was a bizarre one. By now very deaf, one day he sat in his chair upon the tail of his pet cat (other sources suggest that someone moved a table onto the cat’s tail). He could not hear the cat’s cries, and eventually the cat had to scratch his leg to attract attention. The wounds left by the cat grew septic, and eventually fatal.”

Magdalen: Ozymandias

Ozymandias is the OG, the one who started this whole article. We have been delighted to broaden his fanbase and spread a little fluffy joy by email every so often.

Ozymandias, known as Ozzy, is the Magdalen College kitten. He purports to be an eight month old British Shorthair (for unfathomable reasons, as he is most definitely not short-haired). He is about 75% fluff, and lives in the President’s Lodgings with his devoted staff, the President, Dinah Rose, and her husband, Peter Kessler. He enjoys meeting students, admitting new Fellows, and attending College committees, as well as playing pool, pushing pens off desks, and sitting in sinks. You can find more about the adventures of Ozymandias on Magdalen President Dinah Rose's Bluesky account.

Is this feline purrfection? Or have we missed a cat? Let us know. Thank you to all the colleges who helped us get our claws into this content. With colleges, and cats, we are all the Clarion. And apparently we need to write something about college tortoises next…?