Meet Swimmy!
We found Swimmy outside near the pool one day. Ever since, he has been a part of the All Knox Swim family!
Unlike most cats, he loves to swim! He didn’t like it at first, but grew to love it!
While he was taking lessons with us, he learned all about swimming and water safety. Ever since then, he loves teaching kids about being safe in the water!
He loves to receive letters, pictures, or whatever else you want to send him! If you do, he will send you something back. Just make sure you put your address so he knows where to send it!
You can send him something at 131 Lynnwood Drive #5612 Knoxville, TN 37928!
Here is his full story so far. Join the adventure!
Our First Encounter
After swim lessons one recent evening, we were walking back to our cars when we heard a “meeeoooooow.”
We stopped and looked around. A cat? It was so dark that at first, we couldn’t see anything. But then, there he was—a black cat, barely visible against the night.
He looked hungry, thirsty, and lost. As we slowly approached, he came right up to us. He didn’t seem scared of us at all. We didn’t see a collar, and there was no one else around.
We couldn’t just leave him there, so we decided to take him home. Since he was very dirty, we laid down some towels in the back of the car before heading off.
It was too cold to clean him outside, so once we got home, we gave him a bath. At first, he did NOT like it, but as the bath went on, he seemed to relax. And then, to our surprise, we noticed something strange…
His tail had blue marks!
We had never seen anything like that before. Curious, we took some pictures and shared them, hoping someone would recognize him. But no one came forward to claim him.
We didn’t have the heart to take him to a shelter, so we decided to keep him.
A few days after deciding to keep him, it only felt right to bring him back to the pool.
He sat quietly, watching all the swim lessons. Kid after kid took their turn in the water. He never made a sound, only tilting his head occasionally, as if curious.
After the last lesson, we packed up to go home. It had been exactly one week since we found him. Time had flown by. The sun streamed through the glass windows, casting a golden glow.
We glanced back. The cat was perched on a chair, lazily licking his paws, content after his evening of silent observation.
As we opened the storage closet to put away toys and supplies, a voice suddenly broke the quiet.
“I want to try.”
We froze, staring at each other for a moment in shock.
Rushing back out, we looked around. Had someone left a child behind? That had never happened before. But no one was there—just the cat, staring right at us.
“That was weird,” we murmured, brushing it off.
“I want to swim.”
We dropped everything. This time, we knew we weren’t imagining it.
We searched everywhere—the bathroom, under the chairs, even outside. Nothing.
Slowly, we turned to the cat.
“Was that… you?”
He blinked. “Well, yes. You’ve never heard a talking cat before?”
“AHHHHHH!”
The cat sighed. “Guess not.”
We stared at him, stunned. “So… you want to swim?”
“Yes, but I’ve never swum before. Will you teach me?”
We exchanged glances. “I guess… but I thought cats didn’t like water?”
“I’m actually quite nervous. Will you get in with me and show me?”
“Of course!”
Then a thought struck us. “Wait—if we’re going to be talking to a cat, we need to call you something.”
He tilted his head. “What do you mean?”
“You know, a name.”
“I don’t have one. I’ve never had a name before.”
We grinned. “Since the first time we heard you talk was at the pool, how about… Swimmy?”
His whiskers twitched. “Swimmy… I like it!”
Learning Water Safety
“Alright, Swimmy. Now that you have a name, it’s time for your first lesson!”
“Great! Let’s get in!” Swimmy exclaimed, eagerly trotting toward the pool steps.
“Not just yet, Swimmy. Before we swim, we need to go over water safety first.”
Swimmy paused. “Okay, sounds important. I’m all ears!”
“We’re starting with Natural Water Safety! Since you love to explore outside, we want to make sure you know how to stay safe around lakes, rivers, and other natural bodies of water.”
Swimmy sat beside us on the pool steps, listening intently as we introduced five key concepts of natural water safety using the word W.A.T.E.R.:
Wear a life jacket
Always with an adult
Take a look around
Enter carefully
Respond to an emergency
To test his knowledge, we showed him pictures of different water situations and asked if they were safe or not safe. To our delight, Swimmy got every answer right!
“Thanks for teaching me all of this! I feel much safer around water now,” Swimmy said proudly.
“We’re glad to hear that, Swimmy! Do you have any questions?”
“Yeah… does everyone know about this?”
“Great question. Many people do, but some still don’t. That’s why we always teach water safety before swim lessons. We want families to safely enjoy all kinds of water.”
