Today we are visiting the Netherlands and I am pleased to do so as it is rare that I write about a cat in this pleasant country. Professor Doerek is a campus cat at a top 100 university, the University of Groningen, which was founded in 1614 and is the second-oldest university in the Netherlands.
I have visited the Netherlands and it is hard not to be impressed by the use of environmentally friendly bikes; they are everywhere. So it is very apt that I should publish a picture of Doerek sleeping on a bike:
Professor Doerek was adopted from Animal Ambulance Groningen. He has his own student ID, an Instagram account and he wrote a book about university cats worldwide which is popular among students.
The name, ‘Doerek’ interests me. My research tells me that it comes from the Russian word ‘durak’ which I am told means ‘nitwit’ in English or ‘domkop’ in German. I think it actually means something kinder in this context such as a cat who fools around a bit as cats tend to do.
Prof. Doerek is loved by staff and students alike. And we know how useful ‘working cats’ are. There are so many examples of what I would call working cats who enhance the lives of those who they interact with. They are great de-stressors which is useful for undergraduates.
