Cats rule the world, Donald Trump-Kamala Harris debate and Taylor Swift endorsement show

Galileo, Izzy and Denal. Galileo used to live at the Larch Correctional Center in Washington State, US. Izzy lived at a ranch in Oregon, and Denali lived in Colorado. The three of them are independent, intelligent and intimidating, according to the people who know them.

Criminals lodged at the Larch prison had turned into softies because of Galileo. A hardened military guy who had returned from the Iraq war claimed Izzy changed his life. A woman, in her mid-40s, claimed that she had hit rock bottom and considered herself as a failure when Denali, an alpha male who likes adventures, came to her life. Now both go for rock climbing and camping trips.

Galileo, Izzy and Denal are three cats. They feature in the documentary ‘The Cats That Ruled The World’, directed by Oscar-nominated director Geoffrey O’Connor.

Cat parents know that felines rule the world. And yes, pop star Taylor Swift believes it too.

On Tuesday night, Swift endorsed Kamala Harris, the Democrat presidential candidate, after the intense debate between Harris and Donald Trump, the Republican candidate, that the Indian-origin vice president seemed to have run away with.

“I’m voting for @kamalaharris because she fights for the rights and causes I believe need a warrior to champion them.” Swift said in an Instagram post. The post was signed as  “Childless Cat Lady”. 

Swift has 283 million followers on Instagram. The New York Times, using mathematical models, this year proclaimed her bigger than the Beatles in their prime.

Cat lovers vs cat eaters? Trump regurgitates a lie

The singer-songwriter’s comment also targets JD Vance, Trump’s running mate.

In a 2021 interview Tucker Carlson, the Arnab Goswami of America who was then with Fox News, Vance had complained that the US was being run by Democrats, oligarchs and "a bunch of childless cat ladies who are miserable at their own lives and the choices that they've made and so they want to make the rest of the country miserable, too”.

Vance, in a post on X, wrote on Monday, “people who shouldn’t be in this country have abducted and eaten people’s pets”.

The Ohio police had to issue in a statement to the media: “We wish to clarify that there have been no credible reports or specific claims of pets being harmed, injured or abused by individuals within the immigrant community.”

Vance later said his comments were “sarcastic”.

His boss, Trump, seemed to have not got the memo; at the debate, attacking the Democrats over illegal immigration into America, the Republican presidential candidate regurgitated that lie about immigrants eating cats and dogs.

Here, too, it is proved that cats rule. To demonise immigrants, the power of the felines has to be summoned.

Across the pond, the reign of King Larry

Winston Churchill, John Lennon, Marlyn Monroe, Mark Ruffalo, Katy Perry to Taylor Swift. Many celebrities, politicians – and our friends – are cat lovers.

According to a Wall Street Journal report, British PM Churchill apparently told his education minister Rab Butler that Nelson, his cat, who sat on his lap during crucial meetings, was doing more for the war effort than Butler.

Political analysts and animal lovers are well aware of Larry, the 17-year-old cat who runs the show at the 10, Downing Street. 

Global market research firm Ipsos, in a poll conducted in July, found that Larry is more popular than Prime Minister Keir Starmer, Opposition leader Rishi Sunak, Boris Johnson and Jeremy Corbyn. Not a shocking result, given Larry has outlived the tenure of five prime ministers since David Cameron’s family brought him in.

“Larry, in my view, is a bit of a thug. I say this because our dog Dilyn went a few times to Larry’s lair, and Larry being out at the time Dilyn decided—entirely naturally and reasonably—to eat his food. The reprisals were terrible,” former British PM Boris Johnson wrote in The Independent. He called Larry “catzilla.”

Godzilla = Catzilla

Directors Adam Wingard and Takashi Yamazaki both made films on Godzilla, a creature derived into the cultural turf of Japan post the Second World War. Wingard made Gidzilla x Kong: The New Empire. Yamazaki made Godzilla Minus One.

“When I met Takashi Yamazaki, it turns out that his cat was a major influence on him as well, in terms of his approach towards Godzilla and his mannerisms…So if you’re a Godzilla director right now, cats are mind controlling us or something,” Wingard said in an interview to the Hollywood Reporter.

“It turns out that for both of us our cats were our main inspiration in terms of our approach towards Godzilla’s mannerisms and self,” Wingard had said.

Choices of celebrities, comfort of politicians, and inspiration of top directors, cats have played their role in decision making. But, some say cats are associated with mental health disorders of humans, or well, a burst of creativity.

“Cats have been worshipped as god and maligned as the evil allies of witchery and sin, but I think you are the first person to see that they are, in fact, ridiculous.” The wife of English artist Louis Wain tells her husband in The Electrical Life of Louis Wain, a movie about the artist who gained fame for painting cats.

India’s 'OG' catsevak

There are 2.44 million pet cats in India, says the website Dogster, an online community of dog lovers. Dog lovers may deflate the numbers, but it’s a fact that in India we don’t have a Winston Churchill,despite Indian politicians being known for their cattiness.

Jawaharlal Nehru, Indira Gandhi and Rajiv Gandhi were known  for having dogs as pets. Rahul Gandhi has dogs as pets. He even shares videos of his dogs, Yassa and Noorie, with him and Sonia Gandhi. Rahul’s love for dogs even led to a bowwow with Himanta Biswa Sarma, who kind of quit Congress and joined the BJP because Rahul didn’t focus on Sarma’s discussion regarding the assembly election and played with his dog. 

West Bengal Chief minister Mamata Banerjee also seems to find motivation from dogs. On May 7, 2023, Mamata shared a video of her walking on a treadmill holding a dog. She said she needs some extra motivation on some days.

The exception is Uttar Pradesh, Chief minister, Adityanath. Adityanath ushered in the year 2023 with a picture of him with a cat on his lap which he shared on ‘X’. He wrote “Hit Anhit Pashuo Panchiyo Jana”- which translates to: “even birds and animals can differentiate between friends and foes”.  

Prime Minister Narendra Modi formed an International Big Cat Alliance (IBCA) with headquarters in India with a budgetary support of Rs150 crore on February 29 this year, aimed at securing the future of cats found in India. It isn’t about our pet cats or street cats, but about Tiger,Lion, Leopard, Snow Leopard and Cheetah.