Madame Deana Loria, French teacher and advisor of the Class of 2027, French National Honors Society, French Club, Peacock Society, and Model UN, constantly balances her priorities, giving utmost attention to whatever she does. In addition to her diverse workload at school, she is a caretaker and companion to four cats.
Loria adopted her first cat, Linzo, in the fall of 2019, through a friend of Mr. Ernest Valdez, another World Language teacher. Just a few months later, the COVID-19 lockdown began, and Linzo was her only company.
“He was my only company for months. He became my buddy, and I’m very happy I took him in,” said Loria. “I think these things happen for a reason.”
Later, during the fall of 2024, Loria started feeding a stray cat who occasionally wandered into her backyard. Eventually, the cat had a litter of kittens, and she brought them along too. One weekend, while Loria was on vacation visiting family in Maine, a raccoon unfortunately attacked the cats. Sadly, out of the litter of six, only two kittens and the mother survived. One kitten lost an ear in the attack.
-
Mme. Deana Loria’s cat was attacked by raccoons as a kitten and lost an ear, inspiring her name, Nemo.
-
One of the rescued kittens, Loki tends to be a mischievous troublemaker who Mme. Loria jokingly calls a “demon spawn”.
-
Princess, a white and calico cat, is the mother of Loki and Nemo. She is the surviving mother in a raccoon attack that resulted in the loss of four kittens.
Loria dedicated herself to caring for the cats, providing them with food, water, and shelter. Soon enough, they trusted her to move into her home permanently. Their names are Nemo, Princess, and Loki.
“Linzo has been my baby, my buddy, but now I feel like he’s mad at me because I brought these other cats into our house,” Loria says. “I feel guilty, and I feel like I stress him out, but I’m trying to do the right thing by taking in these cats.”
She describes a typical day as returning home after school and picking up the items the cats have knocked over. Then, after reprimanding Linzo for growling or swatting at the other cats, she offers kindness, trying diffusers and cat-calming toys. She remarks that her cats are always hiding in tiny spaces or behind the couch, and they have differing opinions on going outside.
From her involvement in the EHS community to overseeing her daily negotiations with her cats, Loria balances her various responsibilities, finding harmony between her passion for teaching and her compassion for animals.