Species Felis catus | ||
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Born April 12, 1997 (age 19)
Talkeetna, Alaska, USA ( 1997-04-12 ) | ||
Stubbs (born April 12, 1997) is a cat who has been the mayor of Talkeetna, Alaska, since July 1997.
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As of 2017, Stubbs is still mayor, and has been described as a tourist attraction, having been flooded with cards and letters, and drawing 30 to 40 tourists each day (most of whom are en route to other Alaska destinations, such as Denali) who hope to meet "the mayor." Stubbs's position is honorary, as the town is only a "historical district."
Every afternoon, Stubbs goes to a nearby restaurant and drinks water out of a wineglass laden with catnip.
At least one opinion writer for the Alaska Dispatch News insists that the whole story is false, and that Talkeetna, Alaska, does not, in fact, have a cat mayor.
Early life and election
In 1997, Lauri Stec, manager of Nagley's General Store, found Stubbs in a box full of kittens in her parking lot. The owners were giving the kittens away; Stec chose "Stubbs" because he did not have a tail. A popular rumor states Stubbs was elected following a successful write-in campaign by voters who opposed the human candidates. However, according to NPR, the cat could not have been elected as a write-in candidate because "the tiny town has no real mayor, so there was no election." Nagley's General Store now doubles as Stubbs' Mayoral Office.
Injuries
On August 31, 2013, 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 wound in his side. A crowdsourcing page was set up to help pay for Stubbs' medical bills. Stubbs ended up staying in the veterinary hospital for nine days before returning to the upstairs room of the general store; he is now prevented from roaming so far as is practical. Donations toward his care were received from around the world; the surplus was given to an animal shelter and to the local veterinary clinic.
Other perils from which the feline mayor has escaped include being shot by teenagers with BB guns, and falling into a restaurant's deep fryer (which was switched off and cool at the time). Recent exploits also include hitching a ride to the outskirts of Talkeetna on a garbage truck.