The University of Oxford’s library cat spends a lot of time in the witchcraft section (video)

Isambard Kitten Brunel, the official library cat of Lady Margaret Hall at the University of Oxford, keeps students company and supervises study hours. On top of all that, he still finds time to be elegant and beautiful.

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This is what a typical day looks like for the University of Oxford’s library cat.

According to his owner, the University of Oxford’s library cat is a mythical demon

Every morning, Isambard—known to his friends as Issy—arrives at the building perched on the shoulder of his owner, Jamie Nic Bunni Fishwick-Ford, the librarian of Lady Margaret Hall, after a short bus ride. Sometimes he travels on a leash, sometimes in his carrier, but he never forgets to charm everyone with his stunning looks and friendly nature.

Many people are surprised to encounter a piercing-eyed, six-year-old Siberian cat in the library, but they soon realize he provides excellent company while studying, calming nerves simply with his presence. Many students already know that when Issy meows, he wants visitors. He is incredibly sociable and, of course, every inch a gentleman, enjoying every moment spent in the company of humans.

Isambard is a Siberian cat / The images embedded in the article are illustrations

His owner revealed that Isambard devours books—unfortunately not in the reading sense. However, this takes nothing away from the brilliance and mystique of his complex personality. Jamie most closely compares his beloved pet to the dæmons from Philip Pullman’s His Dark Materials series, especially since Issy loves spending time in the library’s witchcraft section. For this reason, he is often referred to as his owner’s “familiar,” a term used for mythical helper creatures that served witches, wizards, and vampires. Familiars often appeared in animal form and shared a supernatural bond with their masters.

Familiar or not, one thing is certain: Issy is no ordinary cat. His owner explains his charisma with a quote from Terry Pratchett: “In ancient times, cats were worshipped as gods; they have not forgotten this.”

It is estimated that hundreds of library cats live around the world

Working cats in libraries

The concept of library cats is not new—it dates back to the Middle Ages, and even today many animals live in public libraries around the world. Monastic records from the medieval period suggest that monks began keeping cats to control rats, which might otherwise have destroyed valuable manuscripts. However, sometimes the cats themselves caused trouble: one was even cursed by a scribe for urinating on a manuscript left out to dry overnight.

A woman named Phyllis Lathi cared so deeply about library cats that in 1987 she founded the Library Cat Society, an organization (now defunct) dedicated to promoting, appreciating, and recognizing these feline residents. At the time, it brought together dozens of libraries, allowing them to easily share information about their cats.

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