myKotty Today we are taking you to a small city in far away cold Alaska. Talkeetna, because this is the name of the place, perhaps it would be an ordinary, unknown town, if it wasn’t for a certain event from 1997. A political event whose main character is a small, ginger cat named Stubbs. Interesting? Keep reading, because every fabCat should know this story!
This is democracy!
It’s July 1997. Mayor elections are underway in Talkeetna. Residents complain about the lack of decent candidates and plan a strike. Meanwhile, the owner of a local grocery store finds abandoned kittens in a box in the parking lot. She is looking for houses for kittens and one of them she adopts. She calls him Stubbs because the little cat has no tail. Stubbs becomes a resident of the store, where he welcomes customers and watches over the goods. In the meantime, his write-in campaign is starting, and he have been elected by voters who opposed the human candidates. At least, that’s what the legend says, since Talkeetna is only a census-designated place, it is unincorporated, which means that it has a Community Council. However, Stubbs was indeed appointed the honorary mayor of the city and served this role for two decades!
Soft-paw government
The mayor’s seat is the shop, where a cat official receives petitioners, gives petting permits, and issues murmuring ordinances. No scandals, no corruption, no drugs. Only catnip. In the evenings, the mayor goes to a nearby restaurant and drink water laden with catnip out of a wineglass or margarita glass. It enjoys great recognition among residents and tourists. Soft-paw government is interrupted on August 31, 2013, when the opposition assassinated the mayor. Stubbs was attacked by a dog. He was placed under heavy sedation at a veterinary hospital 70 miles away in Wasilla, having suffered a punctured lung, a fractured sternum, and a deep cut in his side. A crowd-funding page was set up to help pay his medical bills. Stubbs remained in the veterinary hospital for nine days before returning to the upstairs room of the general store; he was subsequently discouraged from roaming. Donations toward his care were received from around the world; the surplus was given to an animal shelter and to the local veterinary clinic.
In 2015, Stubbs’ health deteriorated and after a long fight he died in July 2017.”He was a trouper until the very last day of his life,” Stubbs’ owners said. “You are are a remarkable cat and we will dearly miss you.” However, this is not the last “meow” in the city’s political history. Stubbs’ successor as mayor is also a cat, named Denali.
Who is the best mayor and why this is the cat
Residents admit that no other mayor has done as much for them as this cat. He made Talkeetna famous – a city with only 900 inhabitants. Thanks to Stubbs, the whole world heard about it and the city became a popular tourist destination. The audience with the mayor was a fixed point on the trip from the state capital to Denali National Park. The cat was featured on the cover of Alaska Magazine, and his Facebook profile already has over 70,000 fans.
This is another proof that cats rule the world. And we love it!
