By Kristy Volmert | Staff Writer
In January, a student from Brooks Residential College was followed home by a furry friend — Fred, a stray cat and an honorary member of the Brooks Community.
In frigid temperatures, students from the women’s side created a makeshift house for the cat — who does not belong to a monitored colony — under the awning near the quad. Members of the community considered Fred a part of the Brooks family, although he never achieved his unattainable dream of being welcomed indoors.
While most of the cats from the colony at Draper are skittish and timid, Fred has an entirely different misdemeanor.
“He was so sweet,” Cypress freshman Betty Jefferson said. “He always came up to me and would brush up next to me, he was always so sweet.”
Fred was quickly welcomed by many students who were overjoyed to see a furry friend greeting them as they arrived home from class each day. Soon enough, he was being pampered by the cat-lovers — visits to the vet, canned and dry food, a cardboard box filled with blankets and pillows and plenty of attention.
The cat even has his own Instagram account under the handle @fred_the_freeloader.
Livingston sophomore Anna Overstreet, resident of Brooks Residential College, is officially adopting Fred and will provide him a comfortable, loving home.
“I decided to adopt Fred because I knew, first of all, that he needed a home, but also because I just love cats,” she said.
Overstreet said that she’d had a cat named Mama Mia who passed away just before she graduated high school and that it didn’t feel right to get another cat for a long time because she missed her so much.
“She was a really comforting presence for me through very difficult times in my life,” she said.
After sending her mom a photo of Fred sleeping with the message “petition to adopt Fred,” things started falling into place for Overstreet.
“I expected an immediate no, but she said maybe,” she said. “They had just gone to PetSmart considering adopting a cat, so it was perfect timing.”
Overstreet said she is very excited to take Fred home, and so is her little brother Ben.
“I know that Fred will be a very welcomed addition to the family and a sweet presence for Ben,” she said.
According to Overstreet, there were mixed feelings about Fred amongst some Brooks residents.
Rockwall freshman and Brooks resident Beau Miller said he and Fred have a “love-hate relationship.”
Some students are unaffected by Fred’s departure, while others will deeply miss seeing him snuggled up in his box or prowling around the walkways.
“I’m gonna miss him,” Jefferson said. “He was so cute, and super soft.”
Fred will be taken to his new home this weekend.
“I’m taking him home with me for Easter,” Overstreet said. “I bought a cat carrier and flea medication already, so now it’s just a matter of Fred cooperating.”
She said she is happy that now he will have a real home and will no longer have to “stare longingly through the window.”
