Cat Follows Kids to School—What the Principal Does Next Is Perfect

When the family cat set off on his usual stroll to school with the kids, his owner wasn’t expecting him to get a personal escort home—courtesy of the school principal.

Nova Scotia resident Natasha, who didn’t give a surname, and her family adopted 4-year-old Simon during the height of the pandemic.

Since then, the cat has become something of a neighborhood character, especially among students and staff at daughter Nancy’s elementary school. Most mornings, Simon tags along for the five- to seven-minute walk to the school, sauntering alongside the kids like he is clocking in for a shift.

“He’s always been a bit of a supervisor,” Natasha told Newsweek. “But this was next-level.”

Natasha said: “Nancy goes to a portable class, which stands separately from the main school building. Simon was making circles around her portable class.”

Concerned for Simon’s safety, the principal decided a more-official intervention was warranted. Just a few hours later, Natasha was greeted at home by the school’s principal … with Simon in tow.

The unexpected moment was caught on camera, and has since been shared on Instagram.

“It was sweet and unexpected,” Natasha said. “I was laughing—it felt like he was being sent home by the authorities!”

The video has been viewed over 687,000 times by Instagram users and sparked a series of reactions from viewers.

“Simon is a hero in my eyes,” said viewer @zoef21, while Instagram user @melsnod wrote: “That’s the best day of the principal’s career.”

“Well this is adorable,” posted @miz_missy27, while @suz88_8 added: “He’ll do it again tomorrow.”

Natasha was delighted by the reaction online. “I often share Simon’s antics online, and this one just felt like a wholesome moment worth showing,” she said.

This isn’t the first time a pet has made an unexpected journey. Earlier this year, a woman arrived at the vet with her feline when she opened the carrier and realized her other cat had come along for the ride. Another cat owner stopped for gas when she realized that she had a fluffy stowaway in the back after leaving her car windows down.

In 2024, a woman got into her car, only to get a huge surprise when she looked back and saw that someone else’s dog had jumped into the back.

Do you have funny and adorable videos or pictures of your pet you want to share? Send them to life@newsweek.com with some details about your best friend, and they could appear in our Pet of the Week lineup.