Back in October when Western Australian Liberal MP raised concerns about the education system it slipped by without much notice.
The member for Forrest in Western Australia’s south-west region told the parliament that parents in his electorate had raised concern about students in local schools identifying as cats and teachers making special adjustments for such students.
For Ben Small, there was a clear line between falling literacy and numeracy results and the acceptance of cat identifying students.
“I have parents in my electorate telling me that schools are permitting students to self-identify as animals, or so-called furries. They are wearing collars, audibly hissing and even scratching at fellow students, even though we see these appalling results in literacy and numeracy outcomes.” Small said.
“To me, it is shameful that we are failing to prepare young Australians for a bright and productive future as members of our community whilst allowing those same young Australians to live under the delusion that they’re cats.
“I’m a ‘live and let live’ kind of guy, but, surely, indoctrinating young people to accept and perpetuate a blatant lie because another person insists that it is ‘their truth’ is beyond the pale. Minister, how is this being allowed in our schools and classrooms today, and why can’t teachers tell students that they’re not cats?” he asked.
Recently the MP shared an edited version of his speech as an Instagram Reel, and it’s been watched 1.5 million times.
Since 2021 OUTinPerth has tracked claims around the world, and across Australia, that share stories of students, and sometimes law enforcement officers, as identifying as cats, and sometimes dogs or rabbits.
Stories of this nature have long been identified as an anti-transgender hoax. They all follow a similar structure, students are identifying as cats and the rules are being changed to accommodate them.
In the USA the stories often suggest kitty litter trays have been put in classrooms, or cafeteria tables have been lowered so cat students can drink milk from bowls. In Australia there have been variations on the tale including holes being permitted in uniforms to accommodate imaginary tales.
What is a constant is the claims always in the form of somebody else told me this is happening, there’s never been any verifiable claims.
Small told OUTinPerth he is confident his report is legitimate.
“I did take steps to verify the information provided to me, and the first to raise concerns with me was actually a distant relative of mine who has this year been forced to sit next to a student who wears a collar with a bell and hisses at other students due to identifying as a cat.” he said.
We also asked the MP if he’d considered if he was just amplifying an established anti-transgender hoax and whether he’d asked if he’d shared his concerns with the Western Australian Department of Education and either the state of federal Education Minister.
“I’m of the view that speaking in Parliament and re-broadcasting my concerns on social media is a key part of my job as an effective representative.” Small responded. “Writing letters to Labor Ministers is not a fruitful exercise in my experience.”
Speaking to OUTinPerth Sam Gibbings, CEO of Transfolk of WA, said stories like these are harmful.
“Stories like these spread fear and division, distracting from the real challenges people in WA face every day. They reinforce harmful narratives that target trans and gender diverse people. Australians broadly support protections against discrimination for trans people.
“Trans identities are valid, and trans people deserve dignity and respect. We call on leaders to focus their efforts on issues like the cost of living crisis and access to healthcare, and to support evidence-based education that fosters respect and inclusion, rather than fuelling culture war distractions.” Gibbings said.
Ben Small was previously a senator for Western Australia between 2020 and 2002. He had a brief interruption to his term when he was forced to resign when it was revealed he held dual Australian and New Zealand citizenship. He failed to be re-elected at the 2022 election.
This year he returned to parliament, this time in the House of Representative for the division of Forrest. He replaced retiring MP Nola Marino.
Here’s just a few of the incidents that OUTinPerth has documented in recent years relating to claims of people reportedly identifying as cats, dogs, rabbits and other animals.
15-05-2021 Journalist Leisa Goddard says students identify as cats
19-03-2022 Courier-Mail claims Brisbane school has cat identifying students
21-03-2022 Sky News shares the ‘students identify as cats’ story
29-03-2022 Media Watch questions Sky News’ ‘students identify as cats’ story
29-03-2022 Tell us if you’ve heard this one before, students are identify as cats
09-04-2022 US radio hosts claims schools are making adjustments for furries
23-05-2022 Why do politicians keep falling for the students identify as cats myth?
24-08-2022 News Corp claims to have found more cat identifying students
25-09-2022 Indiana school officials deny there are cat identifying students
08-10-2022 Schools ask politicians to stop claiming students identify as cats
06-11-2022 As the US heads to mid-term elections, cat-student claims keep coming
23-06-2023 Cats, and dogs and horses and moons and dinosaurs – oh my.
23-09-2023 “Love is love, cat food is cat food” – Scots College apologises
16-09-2023 Sky News is suggest students are identifying as cats again.
24-02-2024 Rita Panahi has found more evidence of ‘cat people’.
15-03-2024 6PR’s Karl Langdon and Steve Mills share ‘cats and kitty litter’ urban myth
16-05-2024 Margaret Court says children are going to school as cats!
23-07-2024 6PR hosts claim police officer identifies as a rabbit
05-10-2024 British newspaper claims Scottish child “identifies as a wolf”
07-02-2025 Hobart Councilor Louise Elliot says there are kitty litter trays in Tasmanian schools
16-02-2025 Queensland teacher denies she was acting like a cat throwing doubt on news reports
20-05-2025 ‘Media Watch’ casts it’s eye over the latest claims about students identifying as cats and dogs
