WELLINGTON ¨C Paddles, the New Zealand prime minister¡¯s ginger cat, had six toes and a wide social media following but has run out of lives.

Jacinda Ardern, the charismatic new leader, announced the death of the ¡°prime moggy¡± on Wednesday after Paddles was hit by a car the previous evening, prompting an outpouring of grief on social media.

Paddles¡¯ rise to social media fame matched her 37-year-old owner¡¯s meteoric ascent to the prime ministership after only taking over as leader of her Labour Party in August.

A ¡°First Cat of NZ¡± Twitter account was set up by an anonymous user last month, with regular tweets about the photogenic cat¡¯s famous ¡°mummy,¡± Ardern. It quickly attracted 11,000 followers.

People from around the world posted messages such as ¡°rest in peace¡± and ¡°gone too soon¡± with the hashtag #paddles.

The polydactyl cat¡¯s feats included being able to hold a pair of glasses with her opposable thumb. She featured regularly in photos of Ardern at work.

¡°To anyone who has ever lost a pet, you¡¯ll know how sad we feel. Paddles was much loved, and not just by us. Thanks for everyone¡¯s thoughts,¡± Ardern wrote on Facebook.

Ardern¡¯s rise to power has generated intense interest in her personal life and drew comparisons with other youthful trailblazers such as France¡¯s Emmanuel Macron and Canada¡¯s Justin Trudeau.

According to Ardern¡¯s partner, Clarke Gayford, Paddles often played her part in affairs of state, even interrupting the premier¡¯s first call with U.S. President Donald Trump in October.

¡°As the call was transferred our cat (yes that bloody cat) came flying through the cat-flap,¡± Gayford, a television presenter, wrote in a column for the Spinoff news website. ¡°She leapt up onto the chair next to Jacinda and began announcing her very squawky arrival,¡± he wrote.