Mysterious cat scare empties Pennsylvania school - and leads to a heartfelt reunion

A cat was reunited with its owners Tuesday after two months on the lam, but not until after it caused a scare at a Pennsylvania high school.

No, Kakashi is not a bobcat. But the four-legged creature’s arrival at West Scranton High School led to some panic from administrators.

The school said on Facebook it erred on the side of caution due to what it called “an unusual circumstance.” Students were dismissed at 11 a.m. Tuesday because of Kakashi’s weekend entrance.

An alarm went off in the school on Sunday, and security footage revealed the cat on a table in the school cafeteria, WTAJ reported.

Animal control officers and the Pennsylvania game commission were sent to the school and helped bring the wild cat to safety.

Initially believed to be a bobcat running loose at the school, a game warden later confirmed it was a stray cat, The Times-Tribune reported.

But the story wasn’t over there. Ashley Wolo, executive director of Griffin Pond Animal Shelter, said the cat was microchipped and had been missing from his owners for two months.

Kakashi was reunited with his owners Tuesday afternoon — just hours after being rescued.

“It was a weird one, but it worked out,” Wolo told McClatchy News. “It goes to show why microchipping your pets is important.”

Wolo said Kakashi’s breed “can be on the larger scale” and it’s understandable how it could be confused for a bobcat.

But social media users still poked fun at the school dismissing early because of a stray cat.

“Maybe it was a cat named Bob,” one person said.

“Baby bobcat lol. Looks like a regular cat to me,” another user commented.

This story was originally published June 1, 2021 at 2:53 PM with the headline "Mysterious cat scare empties Pennsylvania school - and leads to a heartfelt reunion."