Stubbs (cat) facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Stubbs
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.
Died	July 21, 2017(2017-07-21) (aged 20) Talkeetna, Alaska, U.S.

Stubbs (born April 12, 1997 – died July 21, 2017) was a special cat. He was the honorary mayor of Talkeetna, Alaska, for 20 years, from 1997 until he passed away.

Stubbs became a big tourist attraction. People sent him cards and letters from all over. About 30 to 40 tourists visited Talkeetna every day just to meet "the mayor." Many of these visitors were on their way to other places in Alaska, like Denali. Stubbs's title was honorary because Talkeetna is a historic district and does not have a real mayor.

Every afternoon, Stubbs would visit a nearby restaurant. He enjoyed drinking water mixed with a little catnip from a fancy wineglass or a margarita glass. Stubbs lived a long life for a cat, reaching 20 years old before he died in 2017.

Stubbs's Early Life

In 1997, a woman named Lauri Stec found Stubbs. She was the manager of Nagley's General Store. Stubbs was just a tiny kitten in a box with his siblings in the store's parking lot. The kittens were being given away. Lauri chose Stubbs because he had no tail, which made him unique.

Stubbs's "Mayoral" Role

Many people believed Stubbs was elected mayor by voters. They thought people wrote his name on the ballot because they didn't like the human candidates. However, NPR explained that this wasn't possible. Talkeetna is a small town and does not have a real mayor or local elections.

Nagley's General Store became Stubbs's "mayoral office." This is where he greeted his many fans.

Stubbs even played a part in a protest during the 2014 United States Senate election in Alaska. Some people encouraged voters to write Stubbs's name on their ballots. He was featured in a video that made fun of both the Democratic and Republican candidates for the Senate.

One writer for the Alaska Dispatch News said that the whole story about Stubbs being mayor was not true. They insisted that Talkeetna did not have a cat mayor.

Stubbs's Later Years

By 2015, Stubbs was getting older. He started to slow down and appeared in public less often. He passed away on July 21, 2017. His owners shared that "He was a trooper until the end of his life." Stubbs lived to be 20 years and three months old.

Stubbs's owners have suggested that another cat in their family, named Denali, might become Talkeetna's next "mayor."

Stubbs's Injuries and Adventures

Stubbs had a few scary moments during his life. On August 31, 2013, a dog attacked him. He was badly hurt and had to be taken to a special animal hospital. The hospital was about 70 miles away in Wasilla. Stubbs had a punctured lung, a broken chest bone, and a deep cut on his side. He was given strong medicine to help him rest and heal.

People from all over the world helped pay for his medical bills. A special online page was set up to collect donations. Stubbs stayed at the hospital for nine days. After he returned home, he was encouraged to stay indoors more often. The extra money donated for his care was given to an animal shelter and a local vet clinic.

Stubbs also had other adventures. He was once shot by teenagers using BB guns. Another time, he fell into a restaurant's deep fryer, but luckily it was turned off and cool. He even hitched a ride on a garbage truck to the edge of Talkeetna!

See also

• List of individual cats
• Non-human electoral candidates
• Tama, a Japanese cat who became famous as a station master
• Bosco, a dog who was elected honorary mayor of Sunol, California
• Catmando, a cat who was a joint leader of a British political party
• Sergeant Stubby, an American dog who was a hero in World War I
• Nils Olav, a king penguin who served in the King's Guard of Norway
• Wojtek, a bear who was part of the Polish Army in World War II
• Sergeant Reckless, a Korean horse who was a pack animal in the U.S. Marine Corps