The governor of Kansas, Laura Kelly, has a calico cat called Frances, the ‘First Cat of Kansas’. I am sure that she likes, even loves, Frances. She admits that she likes Frances’s independence, strutting around the very large governor’s residence; so large that there is little motivation to go beyond its boundaries.
But she says in a video that cats are not like dogs and they do not provide comfort to their owner but entertainment and a distraction. What do you think?
I think she’s wrong. Of course I would. With the greatest of respect, I think she’s very wrong and her thoughts may emanate from the fact that she appears to prefer dogs. There are millions upon millions of people in the world who find the presence of their cat companion to be a huge source of ever present comfort and companionship.
Also, with respect once again, I don’t think describing your cat as a “distraction” is not a great indicator of the sort of relationship that one should have with your cat companion which should be loving, caring and supportive i.e. much more than a distraction.
Having got that rant out of the way, Laura Kelly’s cat is a short-haired calico, as you can tell, and she has 800-plus Twitter followers and a very nice home to live in, I must say.
Frances acquired her 800 Twitter followers faster than Laura Kelly did! That doesn’t surprise me at all because animals of very popular on social media. The governor lives in a house called Cedar Crest. It is an Historic 1928-built mansion which has been the designated home of the state’s governor since 1962. Apparently all previous companion animals living at the mansion have been dogs. Frances is the first cat to grace this beautiful home and add to its soul!
Frances was adopted by Kelly eight years ago. Like all companion animals, Frances is a good icebreaker for the governor.
“In fact, she sparked this conversation between a senator and myself – he’s from the other side of the aisle, but he was so captured by Frances that he then took out his phone to show me pictures of his cat. We ended up having maybe one of those very first personal communications I’ve ever had this particular senator.”
Kelly
Clearly, Frances, provides some political advantage to the governor which is the point I made on another website. Companion animals are useful in a political sense and President Trump is the only president who has not had a companion animal in the White House as I understand it. Things may change.
Happy to be home to see @FirstCatofKS on #nationalpetday! pic.twitter.com/7EkKAwngvh
— Governor Laura Kelly (@GovLauraKelly) April 11, 2019