The first thing people noticed was the name.

A Louisville resident named Limberbutt McCubbins had apparently filed to run for president, gaining attention in recent months from a campaign watchdog and, most recently, The Rachel Maddow Show.

It’s not entirely clear whether everyone realized that Limberbutt McCubbins is a cat.

Emilee McCubbins

In an interview, Isaac Weiss, 17, a rising senior at duPont Manual High School in Louisville, said he thought it would be funny to enlist his friend’s cat to run for president. The presidential candidate belongs to 18-year-old Emilee McCubbins, who is also a rising senior at Manual.

So Weiss logged on to the Federal Election Commission’s website this spring and created “The Committee for the Installation of Limberbutt.”

According to Federal Election Commission filings, Limberbutt is a Democrat. Or as Weiss puts it, a “demo-cat.”

Weiss and Emilee McCubbins say they have already gotten letters about Limberbutt’s candidacy—some going as far as to ask for proof of the cat’s citizenship. Other letters are seeking information about possible volunteer opportunities to help get McCubbins in the White House.

“I got a letter in the mail from a lawyer wanting to represent him,” McCubbins told WFPL News. “I’ve gotten numerous emails.”

Weiss added: “It does not appear that they know that he is indeed a cat.”

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Candidate McCubbins is not the first non-human to become a presidential candidate. Others include a pig named Pigasus the Immortal in 1968 and Molly the Dog in 2008.

Anyone can start a committee to explore running for president, but actually getting on a ballot is up to state laws, an FEC spokesman said. Also, the FEC’s regulations apply to people, not cats, the spokesman added.

Weiss said he and his friends started this process—which already includes a Facebook page and campaign swag—mostly as a joke.

“We often joked around that Limberbutt would make a great president,” Weiss said of the 5-year-old cat.

He said what stood out to him was that it was even possible to register a cat with the FEC.

“Anyone can easily run for president, which is why if you go to the FEC website you’ll see over 200 people listed—including Limberbutt,” Weiss said.