Pets offer a unique sense of comfort. To hang out with a pet is to be in a truly nonjudgmental space, something often missed at university. With Cambridge students’ long days and, for some, long nights, relationships which are safe and judgement-free are essential. For a lot of students, some of the toughest goodbyes when they leave home for term are with their pets.

Speaking with Aamina at Downing College, she fondly recalls, “I love FaceTiming my cat because he spends the whole call looking around the room trying to find me,” which reminds her “just how much I miss him”. I personally hadn’t realised quite the extent to which my pets had become such a fundamental part of my life before arriving in Cambridge. I suppose living with five fewer cats here than I do at home was bound to leave a mark! So, the question remains: how can we access this non-judgemental space when apart from our pets? It may be easier than you’d think.

“For a lot of students, some of the toughest goodbyes when they leave home for term are with their pets”

Several colleges are home to their own college pet. Cats especially are an easy college pet to maintain: Christ’s College is home to two cats, Finch and Baines, and Trinity Hall to a cat named Silly. Nat, a second-year at Christ’s, shared his appreciation for them: “There’s nothing better than getting home from a hard day and running into the Christ’s cats on the way home - they’re always so friendly and love following the students!” But if your college isn’t fortunate enough to have its own cat, you may be able to befriend the University Library cat, Odysseus, or Jasper, the cat that pays occasional visits to the Marshall Economics Library. Some colleges provide for dog lovers too: Robinson’s Head of Wellbeing brings in her dog, Molly, a Cavapoochon, once or more a week for students to hang out with. Other colleges have similar arrangements.

“Christ’s College is home to two cats, Finch and Baines, and Trinity Hall to a cat named Silly”

But conventional pets are unfortunately a rarity in many colleges. Pembroke’s beloved cat passed away not long ago, but reservations among staff members - particularly around Pembroke’s pride in its gardens and its ‘no walking on the grass’ policy - suggest that it won’t be replaced any time soon. Filling the space a pet provides may require a willingness to bend understandings of the pet and embrace the unconventional. With this perspective, there is plenty across Cambridge to work with.

Wildlife is a feature of most colleges. Downing has its energetic grey squirrels, happily disobeying the ‘PLEASE KEEP OFF THE GRASS’ signs and careful to avoid the resident fox. Girton similarly has its unique black squirrels, or ‘Opium squirrels’ (as per the fashion style) as one student has elected to call them, that have become a sort of informal mascot for the college. On a sunny day, why not park up on a bench and study while these feline-esque creatures scurry around? If you find the right spot, you might see Jesus College’s deer, or ‘Jeer’, as it’s affectionately known by Jesus students, who was recently spotted by North Court. Elena, a student at Jesus, emphasised to me that “‘Jeer’ is an integral part of our community.” The simple presence of animals is a neglected way to reconnect with ourselves in a non-judgemental way. Not only does wildlife offer a pleasant tranquillity, but it forces us to appreciate the small things around us and appreciate the moment. Elena finds that just being in nature can help her feel peaceful, noting that “Jesus has loads of green space, so is a really wonderful and […] really calm environment to walk around and experience nature.”

If students do find themselves genuinely struggling without their pet, there are other more concrete solutions. Pets As Therapy (PAT) is a charity that ensures that “everyone, no matter their circumstances, has access to the companionship of an animal,” as per their website. About a year ago, some of Pembroke’s staff were fortunate enough to be paid a visit by PAT’s Cambridge branch.

The solution isn’t perfect, and for many, they’ll have to wait until they’re home to reconnect with their pets. Is this something we can viably look at changing? After all, mental health experts tend to agree that spending time with animals is beneficial for relieving stress. Practical limitations stand in the way, as seen with Pembroke at the moment. I’ve looked at a precedent set in the other Cambridge in Massachusetts, at Harvard University, that may offer some hope. Harvard is an especially pet-friendly university, with as many as twelve pet-friendly apartment blocks. In these, students are allowed to own one cat or one dog, which can’t exceed forty pounds when fully grown, and a maximum of two domesticated birds. Furthermore, Harvard’s medical students have access to sessions with therapy dogs in their library, the Countway Library.

The precedent is there – the other Cambridge recognises the value of pets, so why not the original? The non-judgemental environment that the company of a pet offers is a fundamental aspect in many of our lives, but unfortunately, at university, it becomes a difficult-to-attain luxury. The demand exists, and so does the precedent, so perhaps it’s time for some more pets in Cambridge.