Since the start of the school year, several sightings of “Stuart,” a cartoonish white cat, have been seen taped up or drawn in conspicuous places, like above water fountains, on or near bulletin boards or on whiteboards inside of classrooms. Stuart even showed up in the playbill and on a prop in the “Mamma Mia!” musical that was performed in January. These appearances, along with many posters warning of a “Catpocalypse,” have roused interest about who exactly Stuart is and what’s going to happen on April 11, the day of the Catpocalypse.
“I think Stuart is kind of cute and clever,” said school social worker Jill Kaufman. “I think it’s kind of like a private joke that has now become more widespread among people at the school and it’s a sort of funny joke, you know, like a funny clever joke,” she said.
Sophomore Julia Jusi, who see the “Stuart posters everywhere” and knows that the creator behind Stuart is eighth grader Andrew Viray, had some ideas about what could happen on the Catpocalypse.
“My main guess is like he [Viray] might somehow bring in like actual real cats,” said Jusi. “Or he prints out so many Stuarts and just throws them out in the hallways or into classrooms.”
Valerie Jennings, who is in the eighth grade, had a more ominous prediction.
“Destruction,” said Jennings.
I had the chance to sit down with Viray and find out more about Stuart and what will actually happen on the Catpocalypse.
So, what are the origins of Stuart and what is the story behind his incarnation? It started back in sixth grade during math class. During math class we usually change between teams and we form these team names and we even make logos for them. And between me and another classmate we were kind of split. I kept on saying the name “Stuart” and they kept on talking about cats and eventually we kind of did a mishmash and created Stuart the Cat. Then I decided to draw the mascot and that became history.
Has Stuart always looked the same? The designs…kept on changing over the years. There were some designs where he was smiling, others where he wasn’t. It may seem a little bit subtle, but his body proportions kept on changing over time. And then it kind of settled to this little, like wide and short kind of limb formation.
What do you think people think of Stuart when they see him around school? It’s overall kind of mixed. Some people see him too often, others kind of embrace him. This has been told to me before. Some people like to remove him off the walls every time I put him on display. In the “Mamma Mia!” showcase, I held a drawing of him during my bow and everyone kind of cheered.
How did Stuart even get in the Mamma Mia! musical? Well, I did really want…to include Stuart in “Mamma Mia!” -specifically as a disco ball – because I thought that would be a fun idea, and it would get people to come again or something. And Mr. Carroll (director) just kind of blocked the idea. But Stuart was on my backpack and we needed a backpack prop, so I decided to bring him along, and he made it to the final cut.
Can you say what’s going to happen on the Catpocalypse? The Catpocalypse is meant to celebrate Stuart’s birthday. On the Catpocalypse, I just want to kind of spread Stuart around, not only just him, but a bunch of other cats, too. Like plaster them around the hallways, in shelves, probably around some of the galleries of art or something.
How would you feel if Stuart somehow were to become the new QSI mascot? Honestly, I don’t intend Stewart to become the whole QSI mascot, nor do I want him to be the whole face representing QSI because the owl does a good job already. But I feel like Stuart would make a good duo character or side character to the owl.
Shan Lin • Apr 11, 2025 at 1:53 PM
STUART 4 LIFE