Stubbs (cat)

Stubbs
Mayor Stubbs reclining on a car
Stubbs at the West Rib Cafe & Pub in 2006
Honorary Mayor of Talkeetna, Alaska
In office
July 18, 1997 – July 21, 2017
Personal details
Born(1997-04-12)April 12, 1997
Talkeetna, Alaska, U.S.
DiedJuly 21, 2017(2017-07-21) (aged 20)
Talkeetna, Alaska, U.S.

Stubbs (April 12, 1997 – July 21, 2017)[1] was a cat who was the honorary mayor of Talkeetna, Alaska, from July 18, 1997, until his death in 2017.[2]

Stubbs was described as a tourist attraction,[3] having been flooded with cards and letters, and drawing 30 to 40 tourists each day (most of whom were en route to other Alaska destinations, such as Denali)[4] who hoped to meet "the mayor". His position was honorary, as the town is only a historic district.[5]

Every afternoon, Stubbs went to a nearby restaurant and drank water mixed with catnip out of a wine [6][7] or margarita glass.[8]

Stubbs died in 2017 at the age of 20.[9]

  1. ^ Lamb, Jason (July 13, 2012). "Talkeetna Mayor is a Cat Named Stubbs". KTUU-TV. Archived from the original on 2012-07-15. Retrieved July 19, 2012. cat named Stubbs has been the mayor of Talkeetna for nearly all of his life -- no joke. It's been that way for 2 decades in the small tourist town that boasts nearly 900 residents. The part-manx was named honorary mayor shortly after his birth, and now locals all know the cat as "Mayor Stubbs."
  2. ^ "Alaska town elects a cat for mayor". United Press International, Inc. July 15, 2012. Archived from the original on July 18, 2012. Retrieved July 19, 2012. As the story goes, about 15 years ago, some residents of Talkeetna were unhappy with the candidates who were running for mayor, so as a joke, they encouraged others to elect Stubbs the cat as a write-in candidate, and he actually won.
  3. ^ "Cat marks 15 years as Alaskan mayor". Euronews. July 16, 2012. Archived from the original on May 10, 2013. Retrieved July 19, 2012. He has been a popular tourist attraction ever since in the town of 900 people. 'He was just in the Alaska Magazine, and he's been featured in a few different things,' said Lauri Stec, who works at Nagley's General Store in Talkeetna, where Stubbs hangs out most of the time.
  4. ^ Duerson, Meena (July 17, 2012). "Cat has been mayor of Alaska town for 15 years". NYDailyNews.com. Daily News, L.P. Archived from the original on July 19, 2012. Retrieved July 19, 2012. Stec manages Stubbs's main haunt, Nagley's General Store, and says the cat has been a good leader when it comes to local small businesses. "He doesn't raise our taxes - we have no sales tax. He doesn't interfere with business", she told CNN. "He's honest". Yet Stubbs has exhibited some diva behavior, such as drinking water out of a wine glass laden with catnip every afternoon.
  5. ^ Friedman, Amy (July 17, 2012). "Cat Marks 15 Years as Mayor of Alaska Town". Time Magazine. Archived from the original on July 20, 2012. Retrieved July 18, 2012.
  6. ^ Yan, Holly (2012-07-17). "Mayor of Alaska village walks on four paws". CNN. CNN.com. Archived from the original on 2015-07-02. Retrieved 2013-07-16.
  7. ^ Doogan, Sean (November 3, 2013). "Donations to injured Talkeetna cat 'mayor' Stubbs to benefit vet clinic, animal shelter". Alaska Dispatch. Archived from the original on February 12, 2014. Retrieved February 12, 2014.
  8. ^ Simpson, Ian (24 July 2017). "Alaska town's purr-fect unofficial cat mayor dies at 20". Reuters. Archived from the original on 24 July 2017. Retrieved 24 July 2017.
  9. ^ Stubbs, Talkeetna’s honorary cat mayor, dies Archived 2017-07-23 at the Wayback Machine, by Chris Klint, at KTVA; published July 23, 2017; retrieved July 23, 2017