Does This High School Teacher Identify as a Cat? Her Students Say She Does.

A high school teacher in Queensland, Australia, has come under fire from parents who say she’s behaving like a cat in the classroom.

The teacher, who worked at Marsden State High School in Logan City, reportedly said she identifies as a cat. She allegedly asked students to call her “Miss Purr” and exhibited feline behaviors in front of students.

Multiple parents and family members of students have taken to social media to complain about the teacher.

“She … forces the children to call her Miss Purr and cat screeches and growls when they don’t listen,” one Facebook commenter claimed.

Another said the teacher made her daughter “purr for a lolly.”

A High School Teacher Was Accused of Identifying as a Cat and Parents Panicked

The Brisbane-based publication The Courier-Mail obtained a photo of the alleged instructor in a classroom. While the face is blurred out, the person is clearly wearing cat ears and a lanyard that reads “Purr.”

The publication also spoke with a concerned parent, who alleged that the teacher “sits in class and licks her hands.”

“It’s absolutely disgusting,” they added. “Something needs to be done about this.”

The parent also noted that they expect the school has been inundated with complaints if the students’ claims are true.

“I myself would like answers,” she added. “It all could be innocent as I know a lot of kids can be overly dramatic.”

News.com.au said they have contacted Marsden State High School for comment. A later post from the Courier-Mail indicated that the teacher was no longer working at the school.

An article from 7NEWS states the teacher has denied the claims altogether. They claim that the teacher told them that she asked students to call her Miss Purr because her initials are “PRR.” The school also allegedly investigated the teacher and found no evidence of inappropriate behavior.

The story calls to mind a 2021 rumor that U.S. and Canadian schools were providing litter boxes in classrooms. Right-wing politicians and media latched on to the rumor, tying it to anti-transgender rhetoric. It also made the rounds on Facebook, despite the fact that the site still used third-party fact-checking at the time.

However, no real instances of litter boxes in schools were ever reported, and multiple fact-checking assessments found the story to be a hoax.