Year 8 student identifying as a CAT

I remember years ago reading here about a 'catgender' child who insisted on being called mewself. People said, 'Only happens on mumsnet!' And now..
When I was little I loved pretending to be a cat or dog. My grandmother as a child wrote that if not herself, she'd like to be a cat - it must run in the family! I still think it would be nice, though I like being a person! I think normally it's a harmless game-lots of children do it, after all. But actively running around hissing on all fours when older is really disturbing, especially if the child has difficulties with social interaction, as it risks cutting them off further. And they risk being preyed on by creepy adult 'furries'. I'm currently doing research on feral children and it's disturbing to think of children acting in a similar way because of tiktok or autism, not severe abandonment..

The vey first, nasty, and bigoted response tells you all you need to know about what this post is really about.

"The point", in relation to the contents of this post, is that we neither know everything there is to know about cats nor children, and should perhaps give them the benefit of the doubt sometimes instead of ridiculing them and their carers.

So therefore if children are identifying as cats we need to discuss with them the possibility that they are both human and cat simultaneously.

Surely it is not that the cat is in two places but that we don’t know if it is alive or dead, thus raising the possibility on a philosophical level that it is both alive and dead at the same time.

While we're talking about cats, and so many people think they know for certain about cats, maybe we should discuss Shroedinger's cat. That amazing physicist has been able to explain to the best physicists in the world how a cat can be in two places at once until the box is opened. Who are we to think we know so much better?

The worst part about my job is teaching them how to be ‘normal’ and it’s so sad because it’s hard to explain why they can’t walk around in public being a dinosaur.

Why can’t they though? I don’t see any issue in accepting that someone wants to walk around pretending to be a dinosaur? That’s very different to endorsing and agreeing that they really are a dinosaur - because they are a girl/boy pretending to be one (fine), they are not one (impossible).

Fantastic post MrsP.

Thank you and all the best to your son.

My eldest son (23) identifies as a cat. He is autistic and he has serious mental health issues, but his cat-persona is something very positive.

Cats are his area of special interest and they are also a great coping mechanism for him (what could be more calming than spending time with a cat, or learning to relax as totally as a cat).

He wants to work with cats, and already has secured voluntary work as a cat socialiser with a leading animal charity. So his interest is providing access to employability skills

He claims that he can communicate telepathically with the cats and they communicate in the same way to him. Whilst we accept this may be something to do with his MH issues, the communication is always positive and he refers to his 'spirit animals' as cats. Even though this experience is a little different from ours, we accept it and the guidance is positive. We would be worried if he claimed the spirit cats told him to do awful things, but they don't.

He is verbal and very articulate and he has given himself a cat-like name. With guidance from his support team, he knows when to use his cat name, and he has stopped referring publicly to the toilet as the 'litter tray' and his bed as the 'cat basket'. He may say these things privately to close friends and family, but he does not use these terms in that context publicly.

He has made a lot of acquaintances in gentle environments such as cat cafes, with people who are also fascinated by cats.

He has invented a whole taxonomy for talking about cat colours, ages and genders. It is very complex, but it makes use of his systemising skills. He used to be interested in meteorology and knew the names of every cloud type etc.

Oh, and he rides a motorbike, has a beard (which he identifies as 'whiskers') and has cat stickers all over his bike. Jackson Galaxy is one of his old idols

I think what I am trying to say, through these examples, is that once we accept difference, we can see how incredibly complex human beings are, and how incredibly interesting we are. I think the school are doing exactly the right thing by letting the young boy embrace his identity. They well be able to reach and guide him this way. It is a fantastic means of expression.

I'm just here to say that as a four year old I identified as a boiled beetle!.

of course then I grew up!

And of course no longer identify as a boiled bee....👀

I work in an SEND school and this is very common.

Sometimes it’s animals and sometimes it characters of some sort.
Often it’s a way to cope with stress or as a way to truly be themselves.

I think it’s unfair that we squash people into a little box and we judge anyone who is slightly different.

The worst part about my job is teaching them how to be ‘normal’ and it’s so sad because it’s hard to explain why they can’t walk around in public being a dinosaur.

That being said my students know their cats, dinosaurs, peppa pigs, five nights at Freddy’s etc need to be ‘put away’ before coming into the classroom else it’s like a zoo.

I think there’s a fine line between encouraging children to explore and not put them into a box and let them do whatever they want and create an even bigger gap between themselves and other students.

Except it doesn't.

Because it's not true

Don't you have your own board?

If you are inferring that this discussion would be welcome in FWR then I can assure you that it would not be. It is not relevant to the trans issue although the OP might think it is and it would be called out for the nasty disableist bollocks that it is.

Hate to break it to you but Furry culture and identifying as animals was massive among 20 somthings when I was in university a decade ago.

Non of this is remotely new.

Regardless if the article is true or not..
No, not 'regardless...." you posted an article you did not verify based on one very dodgy 'source' Why?

We have people identifying as the opposite sex or as disabled. If we accept any identity that is not routed in reality we should accept them all imo

And there you have it..🙄

Don't you have your own board?

This was clearly posted to encourage frothing about trans issues.

Because teenagers do dumb shit and most of them will go through some fairly weird phases. Most people will just shrug and let them grow out of it. I doubt this person actually "identifies" as a pixie. If they have no dress code then let them wear the weird ears.

When I was a teenager it was emo that was all the rage. I made some questionable fashion choices. I'm a relatively normal and well adjusted professional adult now.

“Mom, I think I’m a cat.”
”Can you lick your butt?”
”No.”
”Then you’re not a cat, dear.”

There is a child at DCs school who identifies as a pixie. They even wear little pointy ears. The child in question is 16. I’m not really sure why the school allows such nonsense to be honest.

Regardless if the article is true or not, there are people on this post stating that they have come across student at school with mental illness, identifying as cats

That's sad, isn't it? Do you really think that a bunch of adults on the internet making fun of these students (including the one in the article) is fine?

Whether or not a specific report is true, and regardless of the circumstances in that individual case, society needs to decide whether it is possible for a person to change something fundamental about themselves - something that could not be changed naturally - such as their gender, age, race or species. (I know age changes naturaly - but it cannot consciously be changed, theoretically the rate of change can be sped up or slowed down using gravity for example but it cannot be reversed.)

To me it's illogical that I could legally become male but not change my race or age. There was a case not long ago where a man in the Netherlands (I think) wanted to change his age because he felt younger than he was, and doctors said he had the body of someone 20 years younger. This man had his case rejected, which I disagreed with. Personally I feel that I am closer to a woman 20 years my senior than I am to being a man of my age. I look old, I feel old, my body feels old.

When someone says they feel of a different race to what they were born as (in all the cases I've seen, it's a white person saying they are black), it's generally treated as highly offensive. But, physically, surely I am closer to being a black female than a white male?

When someone decides they are of a different species, they are either laughed at or seen as a pervert. I guess it seems more removed - I probably am closer to being a male human than a spider (I fucking hope so anyway). This sort of change may become more plausible in the future as animals increasingly gain rights, particularly "human" rights as some people argue monkeys or apes should have.

It all comes back to the fundamental question: can someone change something so fundamental as their gender, age, race or species? It's really a black and white issue, it's yes or no. Currently we have an untenable position where gender can be changed but the other things can't, even then gender can't really be changed (see all the bans on transwomen in female sport - regardless of your position, it's clear that transwomen are not seen as being female enough).

This reminds me of Dave Chappelle:

"I now identify as a white man, I'd like some goddamn respect and a bank loan".

This. I suspect there's an awful lot going on here that we're (rightly) not party to, for a child who obviously has complex needs. I don't think condemning the school to trial by tabloid is helpful here.

The issue here is that kids pick up on this stuff, start using Tik Tok, Discord, Twitter etc and see adults behaving like this and it all becomes valid behaviour for them

Regardless of this particular story / urban myth, I agree that this is the bigger issue along with constant normalisation of expanded boundaries. Kids mimic adult/others behaviour. It’s what they do. Very useful in learning how to hunt in hunter/gatherer communities. Very useful in learning social cues in densely packed urban communities. Less useful, arguably, in learning about furries or adults who wear diapers etc

Yep, we had a pupil join us last year and we were told they ‘identify as a cat’ as part of the pupil info exchange meeting.
Not told whether to indulge it or not, but I just got on and taught them as usual with no issues - there were no instances of cat-like behaviour all year so I presume they understood that being a cat was for home only. Yes, the pupil is ASD and relatively high functioning.