Is World Cat Day the Only Thing That Can Unify Our Fractured World?
Probably not. But here are some cats worth knowing from around the world anyway.
Millions around the world went to work Wednesday morning, thinking it was just another Wednesday. Nothing could be further from the truth. Because Wednesday is World Cat Day, a day of fancy feasts, festivities, and sober reflection on the state of the world celebrated by literally dozens of people globally.
Millions around the world went to work Wednesday morning, thinking it was just another Wednesday. Nothing could be further from the truth. Because Wednesday is World Cat Day, a day of fancy feasts, festivities, and sober reflection on the state of the world celebrated by literally dozens of people globally.
(Authors’ note: This is not to be confused with International Cat Day, which is August 8th. Or National Feral Cat Day, which, as readers should already know, is October 16th).
In honor of this prestigious and internationally-recognized holiday, we humbly submit this list of cats with international prestige.
Any of the cats featured in Kedi, a documentary on Istanbul’s cats in select theaters now. Kedi is not paying us to write this, although purr-haps it should. Sorry for the pun. Actually, we don’t a-paw-logize.
Larry, the cat who lives at Downing Street, and whom David Cameron had to leave behind when he resigned after losing the Brexit referendum. He has since said he misses Larry and noted current Prime Minister Theresa May is a dog person, which is catty.
Polish Law and Justice party leader Jaroslaw Kaczynski’s cats, with whom the bachelor apparently spends the evenings as he plans new fights with Brussels and watches television shows. Anyway, one of the cats is pictured here leading a poll in trustworthiness among more Polish politicians:
Taiwanese leader Tsai Ing-wen’s cats, Xiang Xiang (think tank) and Ah Tsai, with whom she posted cat videos while running for office and who may have been with her as she spoke to then-President-elect Donald Trump, thereby threatening the “One China” policy.
Julian Assange’s cat: Emerging from WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange’s international game of cat-and-mouse with Western spy agencies is Embassy Cat. Assange enlisted a feline friend to keep him company as he stows away in the Ecuadorian embassy in London indefinitely to avoid extradition to Sweden.
He even has his own Twitter account. And, of course, his own business attire:
For the bargain-bin price of $20, readers can enjoy Embassy Cat themselves by purchasing this Embassy Cat mouse pad from Wikileaks online shopping portal. Or this strangely ominous t-shirt:
We’re confident the NSA will track the order’s shipping and handling very closely for you.
Finally, here are not one but 14 cats who bear an eerie resemblance to Russian President Vladimir Putin, all of whom are worth knowing, none of whom have reported ties to Trump’s presidential campaign.
Honorable Mention: In the spirit of bipartisanship, Foreign Policy would also like to highlight a dog on International Cat Day: Air Chief Marshal Foo Foo. Thailand’s crown prince (and now king) promoted his third wife’s miniature white poodle to a senior ranking in the Thai Royal Air Force, though it remains unclear what role Foo Foo played in the country’s 2014 military coup.
Bonus Story: In 2007, then-U.S. Ambassador to Thailand Ralph “Skip” Boyce recounted a gala in which Foo Foo was in attendance. “Foo Foo was present at the event, dressed in formal evening attire complete with paw mitts,” Boyce wrote in a cable leaked by Embassy Cat affiliate organization WikiLeaks. “And at one point during the band’s second number, he jumped up onto the head table and began lapping from the guests’ water glasses, including my own.” Bold move, Foo Foo.
Photo credit: VYACHESLAV OSELEDKO/AFP/Getty Images
Robbie Gramer is a diplomacy and national security reporter at Foreign Policy. Twitter: @RobbieGramer
Emily Tamkin is a global affairs journalist and the author of The Influence of Soros and Bad Jews. She was a staff writer at Foreign Policy from 2016-2018. Twitter: @emilyctamkin
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