‘New hire’: Iloilo’s ginger puspin lands on int’l social media accounts

October 19, 2022 - 4:26 PM
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Tanjie
Ginger puspin Tanjie of the loilo Science and Technology University in this photo shared on Facebook on Oct. 5, 2022. (Facebook/isatuniversitypio)

A puspin or “Pusang Pinoy” is gracing international social media accounts after the feline was designated as the “pest control officer” of a university in Iloilo City.

Tanjie, a ginger cat, has been introduced as the new pest control officer of Iloilo Science and Technology University (ISATU) last October 5.

“We are glad that you have met TANJIE, our pest control officer from ISAT U — Safety, Security, Environment, Disaster Mitigation and Management Office (SSEDMO),” the university said.

“May ‘Tanjie’ continue to inspire you to take care of the environment and our ‘furry friends’ always,” it added.

Prior to the university’s post, Tanjie made waves on social media after student Juan Ningad Tradeans shared pictures of the feline wearing an identification card on Facebook.

“Meet ‘TANJIE,'” he wrote.

Tradeans’ post has earned 11,000 pure love reactions and 12,000 shares on Facebook.

Some pictures of Tanjie made it to the international social media pages following the attention.

A Facebook account with the name “Tiddles The-Mighty” shared a combined image of Tanjie and a close-up shot of the ID on the group “Meow Meow World.”

A similar photo was also posted by Facebook user Harp Sahota on another group, “The Litterbox.”

This caught the attention of Tradeans, who quipped that their university cat is becoming an “international star.”

Twitter account @DontShowYourCat also featured Tanjie with the caption, “new hire.” It garnered over 81,000 likes as of writing.

Cats, which are called “scaled-down” versions of the African leopard, are known to prey on small mammals such as rats, insects, lizards and birds.

Experts say felines have not been selectively bred as much as dogs have, making them retain their ancestral hard-wired hunting behavior.

This includes stalking and pouncing on their prey.

Once a cat gets a hold of its prey, it plays with it to make it tired until it is safe for him/her jump in for the killing bite.