Help choose RocketNews24’s “Cat of the Year 2016”

We look back on five cats who have contributed the most to shaping the world in 2016, and you can help us by submitting your vote for the top Cat Of The Year.

Although cats can be found in all walks of life, there are a select few who rise above the rest and excel in their chosen fields – whether they are making decisions that affect all our lives, creating works of art that reach our very core, or developing revolutionary technology. This is why RocketNews24 has established the Cat Of The Year award.

Join us now as we look back at the feline thought-leaders of 2016 in both celebration and reverence. Also, be sure to place your vote in the poll at the end of the article to help decide the ultimate Cat Of The Year 2016.

■ Accomplishments

A genius master of marketing, Mash has leveraged his huge following into book deals, messaging app stamps, and even designer shoes – all at the young age of two. Although many shorthairs have enjoyed the limelight of internet stardom before, none have managed to capitalize on it so rapidly and effortlessly as Mash has.

He’s so low-key he even appears to be nodding off during his own promotional work.

■ What to expect in 2017

We anticipate that Mash will continue to expand his empire in the coming year by venturing further into the spotlight of the entertainment industry. This career path also tends to lead towards a power-couple marriage… preferably with the mogul in a widdle tuxedo and a girl cat in a pwiddy white dress.

■ Accomplishments

It’s difficult sharing a name with one of the most famous cats in internet history, but this Maru has come a long way in making a name for herself. Establishing herself as a trailblazer in fashion, she help shed the stereotype that all cats are “too cool for clothes” by sporting a wide range of skirts.

Maru’s outfits also serve the purpose of hiding surgery scars she acquired after getting rescued from a shelter. Ever since then, her skin has become weakened as well and needs a little extra protection. It’s a shining example of taking a raw deal in life and turning it into a positive.

■ What to expect in 2017

The field of feline fashion hasn’t really made many advances over the years with designers sticking with traditional sweaters, hoodies, and embarrassing costumes. With her preference for original handmade clothes, the opportunity is there for Maru to shake things up with some truly innovate catwear.

■ Accomplishments

Sol has enraptured people around the world with his piercing blue eyes that also happen to be permanently crossed.

On the surface we can view Sol – or as he’s known to many in Japan “Yorime-chan” which literally means “cross-eyed” – as an example of turning what some might consider a birth defect into a thing of beauty. However, if we look deeper we can find that Sol is a mixed breed Siamese and tabby.

As I’m sure we’re all aware, the Siamese and tabby breeds have been locked in a bitter conflict for decades ever since the tabbies were replaced for a coveted role in Lady and the Tramp in which a pair of mischievous cats were originally intended to sing “we are tabbies, if you please” to a tin-pan-alley melody.

According to my brother-in-law who was a major in Siamese-tabby relations, in a last-minute move to pander to anti-Asian elements in the US following World War II, Siamese cats were used with a considerably different musical score. Although, the Siamese cat community considers the now infamous scene a disgrace, they maintain that they were still the superior actors and best choice for the role.

Because of this the two breeds have failed to see eye-to-eye.

■ What to expect in 2017

If any cat ever has, Sol seems destined to head to the UN as an ambassador for either cats with disabilities or as a specialist in Siamese-tabby affairs. His elegant coat combining both breeds’ patterns is a beautiful symbol of hope that one day they may settle their differences.

■ Accomplishments

The only cat not from Japan to make the shortlist this year, Loki has amassed tens of thousands of followers online despite his anti-human ideology. Some say Loki has developed his hatred of people when one of them made him wear a sweater. Since then a permanent scowl has been etched on his face.

Using the internet as a tool of manipulation Loki posted photo after photo of him reluctantly doing “cute” things to win people over.

Then using his vast networks of followers he has been secretly engineering the downfall of society. From arranging the assassinations of several prominent musicians to rigging elections and referendums, nearly every bad thing that has happened this year seems able to be traced back to Loki.

I know this all sounds crazy, but my brother-in-law (a different one) laid the whole theory out one day when we were painting with the windows closed and it made a heck of a lot of sense.

■ What to expect in 2017

Loki operates under a simple code: those who align with him benefit, and those who don’t perish. So whichever side you find yourself on, you’ll know what to expect in the near future.

■ Accomplishments

Tetsuro is an award-winning lecturer on spirituality in the modern world…the award was from me but it still counts. His teachings have also been lauded as “the one true way to enlightenment” by a guy I met on the subway. As we can see from his various tweets, Tetsuro has achieved the deepest level of meditation known to man or cat.

またいつもみたいに寝てたんだけど、スマホ取りに行ってる間に目を覚ましてた https://t.co/0cAt1Jh9sz

—
スミエ(チップ) (@goma_chips) July 15, 2016

With the help of his human disciple, Tetsuro enters a state that some believe to be the threshold of nirvana. Meanwhile, researchers would like to perform a cat scan while Tetsuro enters one of these states to verify these claims, but he refuses to lie down on anything that isn’t soft and cozy.

おやすみ中のてつうさぎちゃんフルバージョン #ねこのかぶりもの https://t.co/TSln4chWUr

—
スミエ (@goma_chips) December 23, 2016

■ What to expect in 2017

At the rate he is going, it looks as if Tetsuro should be able to transcend reality in the coming year. Detached from the physical realm, Tetsuro will be everywhere at once and yet nowhere. We will all be one with Tetsuro and his spirit will guide us in ways that we won’t even be able to sense until we suddenly find ourselves peeing in a flower bed.

ボンボンのおもちゃは片付けましたよ https://t.co/WwKaku3vu2

—
スミエ (@goma_chips) December 05, 2016

These five cats are the ones we felt have influenced 2016 more than any others. Now, it is up to you, the readers, to select the one cat who embodies the year the most!

…Or just pick the cutest one. Whatever floats your boat.

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Insert images: PR Times

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