Five Roommates in a Quad

Athena is likely the youngest junior on Princeton’s campus. She’s eight months old and only joined the Princeton community four months ago. “But Princeton doesn’t take transfers, let alone babies,” you might say. And you’d be right. But Athena is neither—Athena is a kitten, and she’s not really allowed to be here.The Housing website explains that students with any pet other than fish (which must be in tanks smaller than 10 gallons) will be charged $25, and “must remove the pet immediately.” If either “the pet or evidence of” is found at the re-inspection of the room, the fine is increased, and the student may face “losing housing priveleges [sic].”That didn’t stop Athena’s owner, who got her from a pet adoption agency in Trenton last October. Last year, Athena’s owner heard rumors of an “Underground Railroad” for shelter kittens, whereby student volunteers at the shelter fostered kittens until they were old enough for the shelter or found good homes. By the time the student found out more details, the shelter’s administration had changed to one that “apparently detests college students,” thus ending the “kitten revolution” of the Underground Railroad.

Athena’s human roommates were open to the idea of having a small furry addition to the dorm. Three (including Athena’s owner) have pets at home, and even the one who doesn’t was “open to the idea.” Athena has become a full-fledged member of the quad, and most of the time, runs freely around the room; only when the human roommates are in class does she go into a carrier—in case Public Safety or Fire Safety comes for an inspection during that time.Despite the warnings against keeping a pet in dorm rooms, “she has never been found, and I have never been fined.” Inspectors are “in and out in under 30 seconds,” so when one knocks on the door, Athena is quickly put in her carrier under a bed. Athena isn’t a secret, though—a few janitors know she exists, and most of the quad’s friends “insist on visiting her every so often.” Athena even makes it out to the sunlight a couple times every week, and if her owner knows that Athena will be alone for longs periods of time (because of clubs, classes, or work), “I’ll often have friends cat-sit for me so she’s not alone and bored.”Athena isn't the only pet secretly living on campus. One unnamed living arrangement has “a cat, two dogs, and a young boa constrictor.” So, while the Underground Railroad has officially died, it may be continuing unofficially—and the next time you swear that what you're hearing is a cat's meow, maybe it really is a cat. Or a dove.