Max the cat earns degree in 'litter-ature' at US university

A Vermont university has bestowed the honorary degree of “doctor of litter-ature” on Max the cat, a beloved member of its community, ahead of students’ graduation on Saturday.

Vermont State University’s Castleton campus is honouring the feline not for his mousing or napping, but for his friendliness.

“Max the Cat has been an affectionate member of the Castleton family for years,” the school said in a Facebook post.

The popular tabby lives in a house with his human family on the street that leads to the main entrance to campus.

“So he decided that he would go up on campus, and he just started hanging out with the college students, and they love him,” owner Ashley Dow said on Thursday.

He’s been socialising on campus for about four years, and students get excited when they see him.

They pick him up and take selfies with him, and he even likes to go on tours with prospective students that meet at a building across from the family’s house, she said.

“I don’t even know how he knows to go, but he does,” Ms Dow said.

“And then he’ll follow them on their tour.”

The students refer to Ms Dow as Max’s mum, and graduates who return to town sometimes ask her how Max is doing.

Max won’t be participating in the graduation, though.

His degree will be delivered to Dow later.

He is not the first cat to receive human credentials. 

In 2020, an eight-year-old therapy dog named Moose received an honorary doctorate in veterinary medicine at Virginia Tech University after he helped thousands of students. 

In 2016, a 19-year-old thoroughbred horse called Dr Teddy received a honorary doctorate form University of California Davis for being a Master Equine Educator.