Paddles (cat)

Pet owned by Jacinda Ardern (2016–2017)

SexFemale

Born2016

Died7 November 2017 (aged about one)
Point Chevalier, Auckland, New Zealand

Paddles

Species	Cat
Sex	Female
Born	2016
Died	7 November 2017 (aged about one) Point Chevalier, Auckland, New Zealand
Known for	Rescue cat kept by the Prime Minister of New Zealand
Owner	Jacinda Ardern
Appearance	Ginger and white, polydactyl
Twitter page

Paddles (2016 – 7 November 2017) was a ginger and white polydactyl cat^[1] owned by former New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern and her partner Clarke Gayford during Ardern's term in office. Paddles had a profile on Twitter and was known in politics as the "First Cat".

Paddles was a rescue cat, adopted by Ardern from a branch of the SPCA.^[2]

She became a celebrity as the "First Cat" after Ardern took office, and a Twitter account was established in her name. Ardern said that she did not know who created the account.^[3]^[4] When U.S. President Donald Trump phoned Ardern to congratulate her for becoming prime minister in October 2017, Paddles interrupted the conversation, meowing loudly.^[5]^[6]

Paddles was run over by a car and killed in the Auckland suburb of Point Chevalier on 7 November 2017.^[7]^[2] Ardern's neighbour reportedly admitted to hitting the cat with his car. After writing Ardern an apology card with his children, Ardern called him to say thank you.^[8]

References

↑ Fernandez, Alexia (27 October 2017). "New Zealand's adorable 'First Cat' Is taking over Twitter with its opposable thumbs". PEOPLE.com. Archived from the original on 8 November 2017. Retrieved 9 November 2017.
1 2 "Jacinda Ardern's cat Paddles has died after being hit by a car". New Zealand Herald. 7 November 2017. Retrieved 7 November 2017.
↑ Chen, Heather (26 October 2017). "New Zealand's 'first cat' and other political pets". BBC News. Archived from the original on 9 November 2017. Retrieved 9 November 2017.
↑ Weaver, Hilary (24 October 2017). "New Zealand's hip, young Prime Minister comes complete with a tech-savvy cat". Vanity Fair. Retrieved 25 October 2017.
↑ Gayford, Clarke (7 November 2017). "What happened when my partner became prime minister? For starters, no curry". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 19 July 2025.
↑ Culbertson, Alix (8 November 2017). "Paddles the New Zealand PM's famous cat dies in car crash". Sky News. Archived from the original on 9 November 2017. Retrieved 9 November 2017.
↑ Prendergast, Ella. "Tributes flow into SPCA after the death of Jacinda Ardern's cat Paddles". Newshub. Archived from the original on 8 November 2017. Retrieved 7 November 2017.
↑ Maas, Amy (10 July 2019). "Confession: 'I killed Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern's cat, Paddles'". www.stuff.co.nz. Retrieved 19 July 2025.

v t e Jacinda Ardern
40th Prime Minister (2017–2023) • Leader of the Labour Party (2017–2023) • Member of Parliament for Mount Albert (2017–2023)
Premiership	Sixth Labour Government of New Zealand First term (2017-2020) Second term (2020-2023) International trips Shadow Cabinet Christchurch Call COVID-19 pandemic in New Zealand Government response Resignation
Electoral history	2017 Mount Albert by-election 2017 leadership election 2017 general election 2020 general election
Family	Ross Ardern (father) Clarke Gayford (husband) Paddles (pet)
Depictions	A Different Kind of Power (memoir) Prime Minister (documentary)
Eponyms	Hemiandrus jacinda Mecodema jacinda Ocellularia jacinda-arderniae

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References

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