'Feral Cat' Who Closed a School Ready for Adoption

While she’s still skittish of people, Stephanie, the so-called “feral cat” that made national headlines when she closed an Anne Arundel County elementary school, is ready to be adopted.

The cat set off motion sensors in Richard Henry Lee Elementary School in Glen Burnie on Aug. 28, and eluded capture, so classes were canceled the next day. For some reason, Stephanie ignored the food and water left out for her, according to Anne Arundel County Public Schools, and searches of the building showed no signs of the animal. But, teachers found cat fur and urine in a classroom supply closet Tuesday morning, and animal control officials were finally able to capture her in hiding.

Since early September the wandering feline has been under quarantine at Rude Ranch Animal Rescue’s sanctuary in Harwood. Stephanie has received needed vaccinations and been spayed – now she just needs the right person to take her home.

“She’s still very frightened of people. We’re working to get her past that,” Kathy Evans, president of Rude Ranch Animal Rescue, told the Capital-Gazette.

And while she has physically recovered from being trapped without food or water for several days, Stephanie cowers when people come near her. Caretakers don’t know how she would act around dogs or children.

How the feline came to call the school home is also unknown.

“This is pure conjecture, but what I think is she was a little kitten a year ago and she was just let go,” Evans told the newspaper.

Anyone interested in adopting Stephanie should contact Rude Ranch Animal Rescue at 410-798-9559 or visit http://www.ruderanch.org.

»Stephanie, the cat that made a home in a Glen Burnie elementary school, will soon be up for adoption. Credit: Rude Ranch Animal Rescue.