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KU Leuven campus cat & research

Web page of the KU Leuven campus cat, also known as professor Mando, and the campus cat research project.

Welcome on the web page of Mando the "campuss" & the campus cat research project

General information

Since May 2019, a friendly companion campus cat ("campuss") now and then roams around on the FEB Antwerp Campus of the Faculty of Economics and Business, KU Leuven. This cat named "Mando" joins his owner – a campus employee – to work about two times a week and strolls around the campus where he now and then interacts with students and personnel. Because of this important work, Mando immediately got promoted to professor and is now and then invited into lectures and seminars on the campus. Moreover, students and employees can informally book Mando to visit their classes or meetings. In the meantime, Mando got well-known for his lighthearted attitude and has been adding joy to many study or office days at the campus.

In 2020, a research collaboration was initiated by Dr. Joni Delanoeije (principal investigator) from FEB KU Leuven together with Ghent University, Odisee University College and Washington State University to scientifically study this existing campus cat initiative. Since – to our knowledge – professor Mando is the first cat worldwide that was intentionally introduced onto campus to improve campus atmosphere, this unique initiative is interesting from a scientific point of view. The emerging research field of anthrozoology ("human-animal interaction studies") focusses on our interactions with animals, for instance those with companion animals on campus, and investigates these interactions from the perspective of the animals, the people and the broader environment involved.

On this website, you can find information about the adventures of Mando the campus cat as well as about the research activities and project output related to this initiative, i.e. the campus cat research project. 

Mando the campus cat

For questions or comments about the Mando-on-campus initiative, please contact:

Campus cat research project

Research collaboration

The research project (principal investigator: dr. Joni Delanoeije) is funded by the FEB Antwerp Campus and is a collaboration between the KU Leuven, Ghent University, Odisee University of Applied Sciences and Washington State University. The researchers include:

  • Dr. Joni Delanoeije, post-doctoral researcher FEB, KU Leuven (main researcher)

  • MSc. Els Peeters, researcher Agro- and Bio Technology, Odisee University College
  • Prof. Christel Moons, professor Ethology and Animal Welfare, Ghent University
  • Prof. Patricia Pendry, professor Human Development, Washington State University

Publications and project output

Peer-reviewed journal articles

Non-peer reviewed journal articles

  • Delanoeije, J. (2020). Furry families in times of COVID-19: Cats and dogs at the home-office. Work-Life Balance Bulletin: A DOP Publication, 4(1), 16–20. The British Psychological Society. https://lirias.kuleuven.be/retrieve/576557

Invited lectures

  • Delanoeije, J. (2021, April 1). De mens-dier relatie in mens-dier interacties [The human-animal relationship in human-animal interactions] [Invited lecture]. Animal Assisted Projects. (professionally oriented) https://www.aapvzw.be
  • Delanoeije, J. (2020, December 8). “There’s an animal on my desk”: Companion animals in employees’ (tele-)work lives [Invited lecture]. Research-Practitioners Colloquium of the Department of Social Psychology, Goethe University. https://lirias.kuleuven.be/retrieve/600798

Abstracts/presentations/posters

  • Delanoeije, J., Peeters, E. H. K. A., Moons, C, P. H. & Pendry, P. (2021, October 7–9). Staff and student attitudes about employee-owned visiting cats and dogs on campus [Conference presentation abstract]. 3th Annual Meeting of the European Veterinary Congress of Behavioural Medicine and Animal Welfare EVCBMAW. https://www.evcbmaw.org
  • Delanoeije, J., Pendry, P., Peeters, E. H. K. A., & Moons, C, P. H. (2021, October 7–9). Behavioural profile differences between cats engaged in Animal Assisted Interventions (AAIs) and non-AAI cats using a Flemish translation of the Feline Behavioral Assessment & Research Questionnaire (Fe-BARQ) [Conference presentation abstract]. 3th Annual Meeting of the European Veterinary Congress of Behavioural Medicine and Animal Welfare EVCBMAW. https://www.evcbmaw.org
  • Delanoeije, J., Pendry, P., Moons, C. P. H., & Peeters, E. H. K. A. (2021, August 2–6). College campus cat: Exploring PetPace collar data and survey data to measure stress and physical activity in a domestic cat [Conference presentation abstract]. 54th International Congress of the International Society for Applied Ethology (ISAE), 2-6 August. http://www.isae2021.com
  • Delanoeije, J., Pendry, P., Moons, C. P. H. & Peeters, E. H. K. A. (2021, June 22–24). College campus cat: Exploring PetPace collar data and survey data to measure physiological responses and physical activity during campus visits [Conference presentation abstract]. 30th International Society for Anthrozoology (ISAZ) Conference. http://isaz.net/isaz/conferences
  • Milatz, A., Pendry, P., Delanoeije, J., & Bynum, R. (2021, June 22–24). Identifying college students’ interests and preferences for feline and canine physical and behavioral traits during Animal Assisted Interventions (AAIs) using a mixed-methods approach [Conference presentation abstract]. 30th International Society for Anthrozoology (ISAZ) Conference. http://isaz.net/isaz/conferences
  • Delanoeije, J., Moons, C., & Peeters, E. (2020, September 3–5). Should we bring an employee-owned cat to a university campus? [Conference presentation abstract]. 29th International Society for Anthrozoology (ISAZ) Conference. http://isaz.net/isaz/conferences

Press mentions and other

For questions or comments about the campus cat research project, please contact:

  • Dr. Joni Delanoeije, post-doctoral researcher (principal investigator) KU Leuven and Research Foundation Flanders (FWO Vlaanderen)

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