As popular and beloved as cats are, even the biggest fan of felines will admit that they're not always easy to work with. Cats come and go as they please and they often seem to treat humans as little more than sources of food and amusement. As such, cats are usually not as useful as dogs when it comes to working—they're difficult to train and often refuse to work on human terms.Despite all this, there are a few cats that, by a strange twist of fate, have carved out some very special careers, happily working for—or with—humans in a number of ways. Let's take a look at these spectacular specimens of the feline race.

10.Tama, Station Master

In southeast Japan, there is a small train station called Kishi Station. This tiny, unassuming blip in the great Japanese railway system is unique because of its station master: a cat called Tama. In 2003, the station was caught in business turmoil between a struggling train company and its bigger competitor, who eventually gained control of the area's business by absorbing the small company. This was bad news for the owner of a small cat shelter near Kishi Station, who was forced to vacate her premises due to the new company's renovations. Out of options, she begged the president of the new railway to let the poor, homeless cats live in the station.

9.Hank The Cat, Politician

On Election Night 2012, a surprise grassroots candidate in Virginia called Hank raked in a hefty 7,000 votes and $16,000 for pet rescue groups. He proved to be a real threat to the powers that be, to the point where he even attracted smear campaigns from a concerned party called, strangely, "Canines for Feline Free Tomorrow."This may have been because Hank was, in fact, a cat—a handsome, nine-year-old Maine coon. His owners, who referred to themselves as his campaign managers throughout the process, had just put a tie on him and made a couple of campaign videos to see what would happen. Running under a slogan that said "It's OK to Vote Humans Out!" and on a platform of animal rights, Hank the cat was an instant hit. Although he sadly didn't win the Virginia seat in the Senate race, he did place third, which is shockingly close for a third-party candidate that wasn't even human. It is uncertain whether this says more about the awesomeness of Hank the cat or the public's distrust of ordinary politicians.

8.Dewey Readmore Books, Reading Ambassador

The fantastically named Dewey Readmore Books had his career path laid out for him right from the beginning. In 1988, he was found among the book returns by the staff of a public library in Spencer, Iowa. The librarians instantly decided to adopt the cute, abandoned kitten. The council blessed this, so they carefully nursed the orphan kitty to health and held a contest to decide his name. Dewey became the library's official ambassador of reading. He was featured in papers, educational videos, posters, and TV shows, generating insane amounts of publicity for the library. People would flock the library to see him and many would loan a book or two while they were there. Don't think of Dewey as just some random mascot, though—he was an official library employee as Supervisor of Staff, an extremely fitting job title for a cat.Dewey Readmore Books passed away in 2006, in the arms of the Head Librarian. However, he still remains on the library's shelves—Dewey is listed as a contributing author in several works by Vicki Myron, the Library Director.

7.Orangey, Movie Star

Because they're difficult to train and relatively unreliable, cats generally don't appear in movies as often as dogs. However, there are certain cats who have managed to create very illustrious acting careers. The most famous of them is Orangey, the orange tabby cat who was a permanent fixture in Hollywood's golden age movies, ranging from serious dramas to science fiction to horror. His most notable role is probably Audrey Hepburn's "poor slob without a name" cat in Breakfast at Tiffany's, a role that earned him the prestigious "animal Academy Award" known as a PATTY. To this day, Orangey remains the only cat who has won this award twice.Orangey's bag of tricks was so large that it seems impossible that a single cat could be so trained. This is because Orangey never was just one cat. Frank Inn, Orangey's handler, knew that a cat will only master one or two tricks, so he got dozens of identical cats and trained each of them differently. A single movie could see over 30 different "Orangeys," but since they all looked the same and were consistently billed as one cat, many people still think Orangey was just one, super-talented feline.

6.Blackie The Talking Cat, Performer

These days, videos of "talking cats"—cats whose meowing sounds like certain human phrases—are a simple Google search away. The first of these impressive animals, however, predates Internet as we know it. In 1981, Blackie the Talking Cat became famous for his ability to "speak" two phrases upon request, "I love you" and "I want my mama."Blackie's owners capitalized this talent by negotiating paid appearances on various TV and radio shows. When media interest waned after a while, they decided to continue showcasing Blackie on the streets of their native Augusta, Georgia. Blackie's new career as a street performer soon hit a speed bump, as local authorities insisted he should have a business license. His owners begrudgingly paid the $50 for the permit, but they felt Blackie—who was just an animal, after all—shouldn't need one. They sued the city, arguing that their act was not a business, and by labeling it as such, the officials had infringed upon Blackie's right to free speech. Unsurprisingly, they lost the case.

翻译:梦娜 来源：前十网