Jorts (cat)
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Jorts is an orange tabby cat that initially rose to internet fame in December 2021 for a viral Reddit thread discussing purported workplace attempts to train him that included him being smeared with
margarine Margarine (, also , ) is a spread used for flavoring, baking, and cooking. It is most often used as a substitute for butter. Although originally made from animal fats, most margarine consumed today is made from vegetable oil. The spread was orig ...
. A Twitter account personifying Jorts (and his fellow workplace cat Jean) as a supporter of
organized labor A trade union (labor union in American English), often simply referred to as a union, is an organization of workers intent on "maintaining or improving the conditions of their employment", ch. I such as attaining better wages and Employee ben ...
has since received recognition.


Description and early life

Jorts is an orange tabby cat. He was a stray in his early years before being taken in by office workers. After being known to forage for food in dumpsters, the office workers, who already had a cat named Jean, provided care to Jorts.


Office events

Jorts is noted for his failure to perform common daily tasks such as opening doors, whereas Jean is described as a comparatively smart cat who helps Jorts. To prevent Jorts from being trapped behind doors, staff in the office space purchased a doorstop. Another staff member, alias "Pam," objected to this. Pam then compiled a list of training tasks for Jorts in the office, which was met with disagreement by other staff, who said that Jorts would not learn due to his low intellect. When a member of the office staff asserted that "you can't expect Jean's tortoiseshell smarts from orange cat Jorts," Pam stated that this was "perpetuating ethnic stereotypes by saying orange cats are dumb." Pam reportedly requested racial sensitivity training before agreeing to return to work. "Jorts", "Jean", and "Pam" were stated to be pseudonyms to preserve the anonymity of the workforce. Later, Jorts' Twitter account confirmed that Jorts and Jean were the cats' real names. The events led to the involvement of human resources management at the workplace. Discussions with human resources led to the discovery that Pam had been applying
margarine Margarine (, also , ) is a spread used for flavoring, baking, and cooking. It is most often used as a substitute for butter. Although originally made from animal fats, most margarine consumed today is made from vegetable oil. The spread was orig ...
to Jorts in an attempt to motivate him to groom himself more effectively. These events were anonymously posted in December 2021 to Reddit's " Am I the Asshole" subreddit, resulting in publicity. An agreement was ultimately reached to resolve the dispute.


Twitter advocacy

The popularity of the Reddit thread discussing these office events led to the creation of a Twitter account that shares updates about the activities of Jorts (and Jean). As of March 2022, the Twitter account had 170,000 followers. The Twitter account regularly posts pro- trade union messages, winning praise from cartoonist
Tom Tomorrow Tom Tomorrow is the pen name of editorial cartoonist Dan Perkins (born April 5, 1961, in Wichita, Kansas). His weekly comic strip, ''This Modern World'', which comments on current events, appears regularly in more than 80 newspapers across t ...
, Senator Elizabeth Warren, and labor movement figures, including
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,
Lorena Gonzalez Fletcher Lorena Sofia Gonzalez Fletcher (born September 16, 1971) is an American union leader and former politician. A Democrat, she served in the California State Assembly from 2013 to 2022, representing the 80th Assembly District, which encompasses sou ...
, and the United Farm Workers. Jorts' labor advocacy has been compared to Scabby the Rat, the giant inflatable rodents that have been used to draw public attention to strikes for decades. Other messages from the Twitter account promote public investment in education and public health. In addition, the account advocates for inclusive technology and policies, such as the alt attribute used to display text in lieu of an image for
screen reader A screen reader is a form of assistive technology (AT) that renders text and image content as speech or braille output. Screen readers are essential to people who are blindness, blind, and are useful to people who are visual impairment, visually ...
software, and protection of transgender people. Public requests to create Jorts merchandise were rejected by the Twitter account. Instead, the account has encouraged followers to adopt cats from pet shelters, donate to a
strike fund Strike pay is a payment made by a trade union to workers who are on strike to help in meeting their basic needs while on strike, often out of a special reserve known as a ''strike fund''. Union workers reason that the availability of strike pay inc ...
, or customize existing clothing with the phrase "I LIKE JORTS THE CAT". The Twitter account criticized California Governor Gavin Newsom for not signing AB2183, United Farm Workers-supported legislation that would allow agricultural workers, generally migrant workers, to choose their voting method in labor elections to choose to be represented by a union and to elect union leaders. On September 4, 2022, the White House issued a statement from President Joe Biden, supporting the legislation; Newsom ultimately signed the bill into law on September 28, 2022.


Influence

In January 2022, critique linking Jorts' lack of intelligence and apparent poor life skills to the color of his coat was refuted by the chief medical officer of the
San Diego Humane Society San Diego Humane Society, is a non-profit organization in San Diego, California with five campuses in San Diego County - El Cajon, Escondido, Oceanside, San Diego and Ramona. They are an open-admission shelter and are zero euthanasia for healthy ...
.


In popular culture

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of the video game '' Stardew Valley'' was made featuring Jorts and fellow office cat Jean as non-player characters. In the game both cats attempt to get workers to unionize.


See also

* Cats and the Internet *
List of individual cats This is a list of famous cats which achieved some degree of popularity either in their own right or by association with someone famous. Before the modern era * Nedjem or Nojem (Egyptian: ''nḏm'' "Sweet One" or "Sweetie"), 15th century BC. The ...


References


Further reading

*


External links

* Reddit threads: ** ** ** * {{Domestic cat 2021 in Internet culture 2022 in Internet culture Animals on the Internet Individual cats in the United States Internet memes about cats Male mammals