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By Lucy Notarantonio
Senior Reporter
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A phone call from your child's nursery is rarely welcomed, often sparking fear that something may be wrong—perhaps the child has fallen ill or suffered an accident.
That is exactly what Declan O'Keeffe, 34, thought when he received a call from his 5-year-old daughter Florence's nursery. But, this time, it wasn't about her. Instead, it was about Boo, the family's 3-year-old deaf rescue cat.
O'Keeffe shared the "dreaded call" on TikTok (@decspets1), where the clip earned more than 132,000 views. "The boss of the nursery rang to tell me that my cat Boo was trying to get into the windows," he said during the video.
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Then it shows him driving in his van with Boo perched on his lap, followed by footage showing what happened before they got into the vehicle. Boo locked into a standoff with another nearly identical feline.
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A Familiar Pattern
For O'Keeffe, Boo's antics came as no surprise.
O'Keeffe, who lives in County Wexford, Ireland, told Newsweek: "It's not her first rodeo; she has followed us a few times, but this is the first time she has gone into the school building.
"When it comes to entering places she shouldn't, she got herself locked in our neighbors' attic recently and has been known to venture into people's unlocked cars," O'Keeffe added.
Despite her adventurous streak, Boo is described as gentle and affectionate. "She is actually very sweet," O'Keeffe said. "Most cats can scratch or bite, but she is the total opposite and behaves more like a dog and loves cuddles and affection."
Declan also runs his family business, Dec's Pets, which frequently features his pets on social media.
TikTok Reacts
The viral video sparked a flood of stories from other cat owners.
"Years ago my cat got banned from school. I was called down and asked to keep her in at drop off and pick up because she kept going into my sons reception class and attacked the [teaching assistant] TA that tried to remove her," one user wrote.
Another defended Boo's persistence: "Boo is just making sure their mini human is ok."
A third recalled a particularly mischievous pet: "I used to back onto a primary school at my old house, my daughter wasn't even old enough to go to nursery when we lived there but I still got constant phone calls from the school saying 'can you please come [and] collect your cat, he's broken in again'.
"That school also had a maternity clinic attached to it [and] he'd break in there as well [and] hassle all the pregnant women or just sleep on their reception desk. after a while I'd see the number pop up [and] just say 'I'm on my way' [and] hang up to go get him. He was a menace."
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