Pet cat who 'thinks he is a pupil' sneaks into school photoshoot to pose for own paw-trait

A pet cat from Flintshire managed to nab its own paw-trait after sneaking into a school photoshoot.

A regular visitor at Drury Primary School in Buckley, Ziggy the cat thought it only right he too should have a picture taken on school photo day.

Owner Emma Roberts was left "mortified" and in fits of laughter when her daughters Megan and Chloe, who are students at the school, handed her the packet of preview pictures.

The 45-year-old was expecting only images of her two daughters, aged 10 and seven, posing proudly in their uniforms. But to her surprise, another family member was also featured in the collection.

The mum-of-two said: "Chloe handed the letter to me and I expected it to be her photos."But then when I looked I was just in floods of laughter and so were the other mums standing by me.

"I asked her what had gone on and she said he just jumped on the chair. He didn't need any encouragement, he just got up there for a photo."

She added: "He's just an absolute menace. It was real mixed emotions, it was funny and embarrassing."

'He's setting a good example to the other children'

Emma said the curious tomcat visits the school daily to attend assemblies, sleep on the headteacher's desk and relax on the playgrounds.

She said he first visited the school, which is a 10-minute walk away from her home, in 2019. He was found hiding inside the PE cupboard before being ushered out.

But the ginger and white feline cannot stay away and is regularly found roaming around classrooms and relaxing on the school grounds.

"The school has just accepted him and he goes there at any opportunity. He's there every day," said Emma."He sleeps on the headmaster's desk, on piles of books and he goes into every classroom. He even strolls across the hall when they're having an assembly.

"The kids see him at school and as soon as you go to pick them up you can hear kids talking about him."

Emma said during lockdown Ziggy even appeared "reserved and quiet" when the school was closed and he could not visit.

Headteacher Mark Biltcliffe admits it is "impossible" to keep Ziggy off the school grounds so they have embraced him as part of the school instead. He even joked that Ziggy's attendance record is an "example to the other children".

Mr Biltcliffe said: "It's difficult to keep a cat off the school grounds, even if you wanted to, but thankfully he's one of the nicest cats I've ever come across.

"He thinks he's a pupil so it's fitting he's had his own photo. I think it'll be put up on the staff noticeboard."

The headteacher added: "One time he was on the top ledge of the shelves in the secretary's office and he's been known to sneak into mine, sit on the chair and fall asleep.

"It's his second home I think. His attendance is not an issue and he's actually setting a good example to the other children.

"We've not been looking to have a school cat or dog really, but he chose us."

Emma posted on Facebook after the incident, describing Ziggy as "ridiculously embarrassing". Her post has been liked more than 30,000 times and has racked up more than 4,000 comments.

One user said: "That has just made me roar with laughter. I love that the school has included him in the school photos, he looks a very handsome and a proud boy having his picture taken."Another wrote: "I really hope you're buying them because this is a story to treasure forever."

Emma said she intends to buy a copy of Ziggy's photo to put up on the mantelpiece alongside Chloe and Megan's.

A Tempest Photography spokesman said: "We are lucky we are able to photograph in such wonderful schools."Following Ziggy's impromptu photoshoot we quickly cleaned the area and went on to capture wonderful smiles from the pupils of Drury Primary School."