Tenders the tabby cat works just as hard as the students on UF campus.
She pulls all-nighters as she lounges near the Tolbert Area Office. She studies how to better beg for treats as students and staff walk past her. Now, she has the opportunity to be honored by UF meow and forever.
Nathaniel Pelton, a 20-year-old political science junior and Change Caucus off-campus senator, wrote a bill calling on UF to issue an honorary degree to the tabby cat, citing her contributions to students, faculty and staff. The bill passed Sept. 3.
The idea originated after Vermont State University Castleton awarded a 6-year-old tabby, Max, a doctorate in “litter-ature.”
While the subject of Tenders’ potential degree is not official, students have suggested ideas anywhere from psychology, “fur-ensics” and “mew-clear sciences” on the GatorCats Instagram comment section.
Devon Limcangco, a 23-year-old UF electrical engineering fifth-year student, runs the “GatorCats” account with 5,128 followers. The account mainly operates as a Tenders fan page, but it features other campus cats. She also uses the account to raise awareness for missing cats around Gainesville.
Limcangco started her time at UF — like many freshmen do — missing her cats at home, she said. She met Tenders for the first time at Gator Corner Dining when she was touring the campus with her brother.
Tenders has been campus royalty since her first supposed sighting around 2018. Tenders is estimated to be about 6 years old, but Limcangco speculates she may be closer to 8 years old. The tabby cat weighs around nine pounds and loves Temptations Cat Treats.
Tenders mainly spends her time near Gator Corner Dining and the Tolbert Area of campus where she’s either sunbathing, rolling on her back for attention or chasing crickets in the grass.
Limcangco originally started posting pictures of Tenders on Reddit. When she noticed how quickly Tenders converted into a campus celebrity, she decided to create an Instagram page dedicated to her.
Now, she has more than 2,000 message requests in her Instagram direct messages and receives about 70 photo submissions a week.
Limcangco helped take care of Tenders after the tabby was microchipped in Spring 2024. She raised money for the operation by selling stickers of the cat.
“She's abnormally friendly for a cat,” Limcangco said. “She didn’t like being alone. She was very sweet.”
It was when Limcangco received a message from Pelton asking for a fact page about the cat that she learned about the possibility of Tenders receiving an honorary degree. When she posted the bill on the “GatorCats” account, she saw nothing but support for Tenders.
“Everyone thinks she's worthy of an honorary degree,” she said. “I think she's helped a lot of people get their degrees.”
Gator Corner Dining promoted a merchandise campaign with Tenders’ face on tote bags and T-shirts in 2022. Students stop to pet her on their way to meals or their dorms. Her friendly demeanor and need for pets make it impossible not to smile when seeing her.
Limcangco hopes that her honorary degree encourages students, faculty and staff to continue caring for Tenders, she said.
Pelton also met Tenders when he was a freshman visiting Gator Corner. When he learned of her loving personality, he understood quickly why so many students adore her.
“We're all just a bunch of college kids that keep cycling in and out for her lifetime,” Pelton said. “She’s just along for the ride.”
When he heard about Vermont State University Castleton issuing an honorary degree to their campus cat, he knew he had to try and do the same for Tenders.
He submitted the bill Aug. 21 hoping that the Student Government and the student body could have fun with it.
“Bills like this really helped to take away from the sort of partisan extremity that we see at a student government,” he said.
The bill passed unanimously in the Senate with both the Vision and Change senators showing full support.
Tenders has to follow the same process to get an honorary degree as a human would. Pelton said it looks like it will be an uphill battle. Honorary degrees are reserved for “highly respected
academics,” Pelton said, so although the process may seem simple, the reality involves negotiations and conversations with administration.
However, he hopes that if Tenders actually receives the degree, it would be good publicity for the university.
He said that Tenders should be celebrated for representing a home at UF.
“She's the adopted pet of thousands of students,” he said. “Issuing an honorary degree is something that will help cement her memory forever, and it really doesn't cost the university much to do it.”
Tenders helped Meagan Lamey, a 19-year-old sustainability studies sophomore and Yulee Area senator, find a part of the home she was missing at UF.
“I came from a household where I fostered kittens,” Lamey said. “It was a hard transition to go from that to not having any pets.”
Meeting Tenders became her way to relieve stress and start feeling less homesick.
When Pelton showed her the resolution, she said she found it funny but necessary. She sponsored the bill and was glad to see something fun on the Senate floor.
Lamey thinks the bill is a good way to offer more support to stray cats across campus.
“A lot of people have a bad view of feral cats,” she said. “It's a good example that they can be really helpful if the community takes care of them.”
Contact Delia Rose Sauer at drosesauer@alligator.org. Follow her on X @_delia_rose_.
Delia Rose Sauer is a junior journalism student and the Fall 2024 University General Assignment Reporter. This is her second semester on the University Desk. In her free time, she's drawing on Procreate, crocheting or exploring music genres.
