It seems to me that humans have become rather sick of humans lately. As I was browsing through the internet it caught my attention how many animals have run for political office around the world and had a huge amount of support; Several have even won their election! I found 6 interesting stories about cats running for political office. Some of them to spite dirty politicians, so to raise awareness, and some just for fun. The PolitiCATs #1: Stubbs of Alaska “He doesn’t raise our taxes — we have no sales tax. He doesn’t interfere with business. He’s honest.” Lauri Stec, Stubb’s owner mayoral staff Mayor StubbsImage coutesy of Stubbs is probably the most famous politiCAT of all time. In 1997 Stubbs was just a kitten when he was elected Mayor of Talkeetna, Alaska. He has held the office ever since. The position of mayor is only an honorary position in the tiny historical town of 800 people. It is said that voters who were upset with their choices mayor rallied to elect Stubbs as a write-incandidate. It seems that the town loves their mayor and the biggest complaint is about the fur he sheds when he visits other stores. Stubb’s owners mayoral staff first met him when someone was offering free kittens out of a cardboard box near their store. He was chosen out of the litter because he had no tail. Stubbs still uses Nagley’s General Store as his mayoral office. He enjoys drinking water laced with catnip out of a wine glass. In 2013 he was seriously injured in an altercation with a dog. It appears that he is still alive and well. You can visit him on . #2: Morris of 9Lives “It’s time to let the cat out of the bag – I’m running for President. As we head out on the campaign trail, my hope is that Mayor Stubbs and I put our best paw forward in representing all cats everywhere.” – Morris the Cat Morris the Cat from 9LivesImage courtesy of www.facebook.com/morristhecat Morris is the orange tabby spokescat for 9Lives cat food. He has made a few different attempts to gain thepresidency of the United States (in 1988, 1992, and 2012). Obviously, none of the campaigns were successful. In 2012 he announced that Stubbs, the mayor of Talkeetna, Alaska would be his running mate. Together their platform was : A furever home for every cat. No more empty food dishes. Freedom of Cattitude. With some corporate help, Morris’ campaign offered to donate 1 bowl of 9Lives cat food for every share of their poster on Facebook. #3: Mickelin of Sweden Mickelin of SwedenImage courtesy of www.mashable.com Mickelin was an all black cat (he is now described as being an “ex-cat”) who was elected the leader of the Ezenhemmer Plastic Bags and Child Rearing Utensils Party of Sweden. This party was formed to be “a party for the seriously unserious.” They have an over-the-top sense of humor that reminds me a lot of Monty Python. In 1994, he ran as the party’s candidate in Sweden’s general election and actually got 104 votes. Mickelin and his party ran on a platform of ending politicalboringness. You can learn more about Mickelin on. #4: Tuxedo Stan of Canada Image courtesy of www.huffingtonpost.com Tuxedo Stan ran for mayor of Halifax, Nova Scotia , Canada in 2012 as a member of the Tuxedo party. He believed that cats would get more votes for political office if they had thumbs. Unfortunately, Stan’s candidacy was nothing more than ceremonial because laws in that area do not allow animals to take office. The purpose of his run was to bring attention the the welfare of cats in Canada. He and his party wanted to see a city run spay/neuter program to help stop the overpopulation of cats. Celebrities such as Anderson Cooper turned Tuxedo Stan’s campaign into a success as far as spreading awareness. #5: Morris of Mexico “Tired of voting for rats? Vote for a cat.” – Morris’ Campaign Slogan Morris of MexicoImage courtesy of www.nydailynews.com Morris, not the aforementioned Morris of 9Lives, ran for mayor of Xalapa, Mexico in 2013. Interestingly enough, at the same timeas Morris was campaigning, Maya the cat was campaigning for mayor in Puebla, Mexico. Morris’ campaign started as a joke in the Mexican university town, but soon became a real message about how dissatisfied the people of the town were with local politics. Morris promised that he would sleep most of the day, eat, and donate his leftover litter to fill potholes. Even though he didn’t win the election, his campaign did get a lot of attention. If you can understand Spanish, check out . It seems that he is still politically active. #6: Hank of Virginia “Unlike so many others, he wasn’t born with a ‘silver spoon’ – but rather earned his success and his name through hard work.” – Hank’s website Hank of VirginiaImage courtesy of www.hankforsenate.com In 2012, Hank the cat ran for one of Virginia’s seats in the U.S. Senate. shows how Hank can much better relate to the common man than the wealthy politicians who were running. It says that Hank was born to a single mother who was living on thestreets and that he and his family were rescued from death row. The website has all of the stylings of a tried and true political candidate – including a request for volunteers to go door to door and man the phones. Raising awareness for animal rescues was a big part of Homer’s platform. This platform gained Hank a famous friend -Homer the Blind Cat. A deal was reached so that Hank’s campaign could offer copies of “Homer’s Oddyssey: A Fearless Feline Tale” at a special price and 100% of the profits would go to Animal Allies and the Animal Welfare League of Alexandria. Do you think your cat (or other pet) would make a good politician?
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