An Orange Cat Served as Mayor of an Alaskan Town for Two Decades
In the small Alaskan town of Talkeetna (pop. 1,055), a cat named Stubbs held the honorary title of mayor for two decades. Stubbs gained this unusual position in 1997 after a store manager adopted him from a box of kittens in her parking lot. The friendly, tailless cat quickly became a local favorite and a tourist attraction, drawing visitors who hoped to meet the “mayor.”
Although Talkeetna doesn’t have a real mayor, Stubbs’s “mayoral office” was at Nagley’s General Store. He received fan mail and even became a write-in candidate in the 2014 U.S. Senate election in Alaska.
Stubbs enjoyed a daily routine that included drinking water mixed with catnip from a wine glass at a nearby restaurant. Despite a few mishaps, including being attacked by a dog and falling into a deep fryer (which was fortunately turned off), Stubbs lived a long life. He passed away in 2017 at the age of 20.
Following his passing, Stubbs’s owners suggested that another one of their cats, Denali, might take over the honorary mayoralty of Talkeetna.
