Zoom Lecture Cat Got a Cap and Gown at UT Austin

A Zoom lecture cat got her own cap and gown after sitting beside her owner for every online class.

Francesca Bourdier, a University of Texas at Austin graduate, and her cat Suki joined the school’s spring 2022 graduating class celebration in May 2022. Suki was then one and a half years old, FOX 7 Austin reported.

CAT GOT A CAP AND GOWN AFTER ATTENDING EVERY ZOOM CLASS

Suki did not receive a degree, but Bourdier described her as an honorary member of the graduating class.

“I kind of wanted to celebrate her and kind of have her along with me,” Bourdier said.

A college career spent on Zoom

The pandemic meant most of Bourdier’s classes took place online, she told The Dodo. That left her at home with Suki.

“I was pretty much at my apartment for most of the time and I had my cat next to me,” Bourdier said. “Whenever I would have my Zoom lecture on, it’s like she almost wanted to listen in on it, and she would always just sit by my laptop.”

Bourdier adopted Suki from a local shelter in September 2020 after seeing her picture online. The cat then joined her online classes for two years.

Suki showed up as soon as she heard a Zoom class begin. She would lie beside Bourdier’s computer and sometimes park herself on the iPad while Bourdier took notes.

“She would just come onto my desk and lay next to it as if she was listening,” Bourdier said.

“It was just me and her,” she said. Bourdier also said having Suki next to her gave her emotional support.

One professor asked the class to show off their pets. Bourdier said she saw that “almost every student had their pet next to them.”

“A lot of people relate to having their pet with them, you know, attending their Zoom lectures because everyone was pretty much at home,” she said. “She’s just kind of my special graduate.”

The cap, the gown and the post

“I knew I had to celebrate her, too,” Bourdier said.

She bought Suki a cap and gown that nearly matched her own. Bourdier runs a clothing business that sells matching outfits for pets and their owners, so the coordinated look fit right in.

She had already shared a photo of herself and Suki in matching pink sweatsuits, Gold 101.7 reported. The graduation photos went up on social media with a caption that left no doubt about Suki’s attendance record.

“Yes, my cat attended every zoom lecture I had so we will BOTH be graduating from THE University of Texas at Austin together”

The University of Texas answered the post with a short note: “Congratulations to you both.” NDTV also reported that the university congratulated the pair.