Mr Happy Cat is no ordinary cat. He has travelled the world, gone ghost hunting, and accompanied young schoolchildren who were especially good during their history lessons.
His life first started when his owner, Malcolm Hansen, a regular traveller to Malta, started taking Mr Happy Cat, a simple, yet loveable soft toy, to schools with him when he taught history lessons.
“It may seem daft, but it is amazing how a little soft toy can break the barrier between myself and the children,” Mr Hansen told The Sunday Times about his adventures with Mr Happy Cat.
The owner himself is no ordinary man either. Mr Hansen is also a writer, a ghost-hunter, a teacher and a history tour guide.
Being a teacher who rotates between some 20 English schools, Mr Hansen explained the way he is able to get away with a lot more than his fellow teachers.
However, he has an added barrier to break down to get to the children, and takes the little soft toy with him during lessons, to sit on children’s desks when they are particularly attentive.
In January, Mr Hansen managed to take a group of children on ghost walks with Mr Happy Cat.
“In the UK it’s not easy to be allowed to take children into a graveyard at night and frighten them,” Mr Hansen said, explaining that the cat made the children feel safe.
The walks served as a catalyst to get the children to write quality stories, by thinking about what they do and put it down in writing in a graphic way.
That was the birth of the Happy Cat Club, a non-profit group which to date has over 600 children as members.
In the coming years, Mr Hansen plans to move to Malta and bring Mr Happy Cat with him.
He hopes to start off a similar club locally, and encourage Maltese children to write “proper, real letters” to children in the UK.
The club is strictly controlled, Mr Hansen pointed out, and all letters to Mr Happy Cat must be screened by teachers or parents before being sent to the club’s address. This is done to ensure the children are protected.
Becoming a member costs nothing, Mr Hansen said. However, every child has to do one good deed before joining the club and receiving an honoree badge.
Anyone who wishes to enrol their child/student may write to: The House of Happy Cat, c/o Malcolm Hansen, 10, Mill Lane, Skipton, N. Yorks, BD23 2PQ, England.