Paddles, First Cat of NZ
New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern's cat Paddles has her own Twitter account Twitter @FirstCatofNZ

Jacinda Ardern was officially sworn in as New Zealand's 40<sup>th prime minister on 26 October, but that did not stop her pet from making her own public announcement of the new position much earlier this month.

Ardern's pet cat introduced herself as the "First Cat of NZ" via the social media site on 21 October. "Hi, I'm Paddles and I am the First Cat of New Zealand. I have opposable thumbs, I'm purrty special," the account stated alongside a photo of the orange and white cat fur-ball, showing off what looks very much like "opposable thumbs".

In her Twitter bio, she claims that her full name is "Paddles Ardern-Gayford" and that she is an "Independent cat - not affurliated with the Labour Pawty".

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In the week since her arrival on social media, Paddles has already earned over 9,700 followers and seems to be very active, posting around 709 times since last Saturday.

Ardern, who at 37 is the country's youngest PM ever, shares the polydactyl cat with her partner television presenter Clarke Gayford. Paddles will be spending her days getting comfortable at her new home, the Premier House in Wellington, the official residence of the prime minister.

While not napping or sunbathing, the four-legged public figure spends her time doling out advice to her followers and continuing to improve diplomatic ties with pets from other countries with the hashtag #catofthepeople.

Paddles even spoke up about a subject Ardern herself has been very vocal about — being asked about plans for a family. In August New Zealand's Labour party leader said it was unacceptable that she was being questioned about her plans to have children while in office.

"It is a woman's decision about when they choose to have children and it should not predetermine whether or not they are given a job or have job opportunities," she said in response to talk show host Mark Richardson's line of questioning.

When asked the same question Paddles pretty much echoed her "mom's" words. "It is totally unacceptable in 2017 to say that cats should have to answer that in the workplace," the reply said on Twitter.