Forget the rats; vote for cats!

It may be seem im-paws-able (we’re sorry, we couldn’t help ourselves) but feline mayoral candidates are becoming an international phenomenon.



Recently Morris, a black and white kitten, kicked off his campaign in Xalapa, Mexico, with the campaign slogan “Tired of Voting for Rats? Vote for a Cat.” Morris is attracting tens of thousands of politically disillusioned human supporters on social media outlets, according to an Associated Press report.


Sergio Chamorro, who adopted Morris last year, told the AP, “He sleeps almost all day and does nothing, and that fits the profile of a politician.” 



Chamorro, along with a group of friends and family, tossed their cat into the ring (last of the cat puns, we promise) after they became fed up with the empty promises of Mexico’s politicians, according to the AP.


"Morris has been a catalyst (not our pun. We swear.) to show the discontent that exists in our society," Chamorro told the AP. "Our message from the beginning has been 'if none of the candidates represent you, vote for the cat' and it seems people are responding to that."


Money donated to the Morris campaign will go to an animal shelter, the AP reports.

But Morris isn’t the only kitty candidate feline confident that symbolic runs can cause change (okay, that was the last one). Tuxedo Stan, another mayoral hopeful, ran in Halifax, Canada, last fall, according to CTV News. 

Unofficially endorsed by Anderson Cooper, Stan’s campaign platform was curbing the city’s stray population. 

Dr. Hugh Chrisholm, Stan’s owner/campaign manager, estimated Halifax strays number in the thousands. Strays who are not spayed or neutered breed indiscriminately, Chrisholm told CTV, and then must live on the streets, hungry and sick.



Chrisholm blamed local officials for the problem, spawning Stan’s campaign slogan, “Because Neglect isn’t Working.” Stan’s campaign drew nearly 6,000 Facebook “Likes,” according to CTV.

Chrisholm admitted to CTV that a cat alone can’t do much to change policy, but he encouraged human candidates to take “Stan’s Pledge,” which included issues the cat would probably find important.

But Morris and Stan are not the first felines to pursue public office. According to CTV, Stubbs the cat is the honorary mayor of Talkeetna, Alaska. And has been for 15 years.