You may have seen him roaming through the halls, or napping in bushes – Hank the cat has taken over the Bothell High School campus. While many know him as Roosevelt, Alli Cormier (’26), a freshman here at Bothell, knows him as Hank. Having adopted the five year old Hemmingway mix in 2020, she says that she always knew people in the community would love him: “He likes people… [and]  he likes to explore.” She tells me that sometimes he can even wander as far as Westhill Elementary, or to Friday night football games to cheer on Bothell. 

Hank may look cute, but Alli tells us that he may not be as cuddly and sweet as he seems. She says, “It’s hard because one of our cats ran away, the cat that ran away was best friends with Hank.” If there’s one thing Cormier and her family wants people to know, it’s to let him roam as he pleases and to give him his space. “(..) We’re always scared he’s gonna run away. We ask that you don’t feed him, because if you do he won’t come back home.” 

Many people, myself included, were caught off guard by seeing a house cat on campus. Especially those who already knew him. “When we first saw Hank at school, my friend called me in like complete shock. She was like ‘Alli, your cat’s at school!’ and I was like ‘what?’”

Teachers and faculty were also shocked at Hank’s presence. A mass email was sent out to the entire staff, asking if anyone knew the origins of the cat on campus. Nathan Beck, a Freshman English teacher at Bothell, happened to know the famous cat’s owner. 

“I thought about sending an email, but there was a staff meeting about ten minutes after she told me.” He says. Beck claims that he stood in the commons, and cleared up all confusion about Hank. “I think I started this chain reaction, (…) because after that people started to know him by name.”