Cats have been given an honor worthy of a king — by starring in a new series of postage stamps created by the British Royal Mail.
The quirky series of stamps, each featuring a different breed of cat, are a must-have for cat lovers and stamp collectors alike.
Royal Mail gets in on cat-mania
The UK’s postal company announced the release of the new series on their Twitter page on Thursday, June 9. With a clever pun, the Royal Mail quipped : “We’re not kitten you, we’ve just launched our pawsome new Cat Stamps”.
The adorable series unveiled by the Royal Mail consists of eight stamps featuring felines of various breeds in different postures.
From a cat licking its paw, a Bengal playing fetch, to a puss taking a power nap, the stamps give a nice roundup of some of the typical attitudes displayed by our four-legged friends.
Appearing on the stamps are the most popular domestic cat breeds in the UK. You’ll find among others a Bengal (as mentioned above), a Maine Coon, a British Shorthair, a Tabby, and a Siamese.
The launch also includes cat-themed envelopes, postcards, and collector’s sheets.
To design this collection, the Royal Mail pulled out all the stops and enlisted the help of expert Tamsin Pickeral, a British art historian and author of reference books on animals.
While presenting the cat-themed stamps, David Jones, a member of the Royal Mail PR team stated: “These beautiful stamps showing cats being cats show why, as a nation, we are besotted with them.”
He adds: “Their enchanting, independent, and quirky ways are perfectly captured in these images that all animal lovers will adore.”
Cats remain beloved pets
According to 2022 statistics reports, the UK counts approximately 12 million owned cats, with around one in five households having a feline member. The coronavirus pandemic and the ensuing lockdowns played an important role in the increase in cat ownership in the country, with many people wanting the companionship of a furry friend.
With so many feline citizens, it’s only fair this part of the population got some well-deserved recognition. To promote the collectibles, who better than the subjects themselves? Cat influencer Tommy the ginger has already given his stamp of approval to the release.
The stamps are available online and in stores. The Royal Mail is also giving fans an opportunity to win a pack of the newest collection. To enter the giveaway, players have to answer a cat-related question in the comments sections of the official Twitter and Instagram pages.