Honorary cat mayor of small US town dies

TALKEETNA: Stubbs, the honorary feline mayor of the Alaskan town of Talkeetna, has died at the age of 20.

The owners announced the cat’s death on Saturday.

“Stubbs lived for 20 years and three months,” the family wrote.

“He was a trooper until the very last day of his life; meowing at us throughout the day to pet him or to come sit on the bed with him and let him snuggle and purr for hours in our lap.

“Thank you, Stubbs, for coming into our lives ... you are a remarkable cat and we will dearly miss you.”

Talkeetna, which has a population of 900, elected the yellow cat mayor in a write-in campaign in 1998.

There is no human mayor in the town.