Crossing the international border between the United States and Canada without identifying yourself through an official port of entry is illegal. But for a cat named Louis Vuitton, the law doesn’t apply. Not because it actually doesn’t, but because he and his ungovernable cattitude have clearly decided it doesn’t. Louis crosses over the official line between the nations multiple times a day in his hometown of Surrey, British Columbia. No wall, fence, or wire separates the U.S. from Canada here, just a ditch on the side of the road monitored carefully by border patrol agents. If a person were to hop over the ditch, they would be apprehended. But Louis Vuitton travels freely between the countries, even smuggling mice he catches across the border. In the words of CTV News, he is “decidedly confident, ignoring the watchful gaze of border agents and that machine in the sky that’s as useful as the dog as far as he’s concerned.” In other words, regardless of his national identity, he’s 100% cat. People came rolling in with the cat and border jokes The jokes almost write themselves, don’t they? With over 4 million people watching and thousands commenting, we got a bunch of punny gems: “He’s got a pawsport.” “He’s a dual kitizen.” “A Catnadian and Ameowrican at the same time.” “That’s a diplocat.” “He’s conducting very important paw-litical negotiations.” “The cat is trying to smuggle catnip across the border.” “Where’s Paw Patrol when you need one.” “It’s out of Border Patrol’s purrisdiction.” “Border Agents: ‘Do you have anything to declare?’ Louis: (drops dead mouse).” “Said the cat: ‘tariff this!'” “This cat doesn’t care about ICE, he just cares about mice.” “He’s looking out for M-ICE.” Cat carrying a mouse (Photo credit: Canva) Louis got people thinking about human borders Many commenters simply loved the lighthearted story and said this is the only kind of international news they want to see right now. But others pointed to the reality that Louis’ border crossing forces us to think about: the nature of national borders in general. “Just a cat living a normal life, meanwhile the humans going insane about some imaginary pretend line they can’t cross.” “Cat proves to humans how arbitrary an imaginary line can be.” “Cats are not bound by ideals as foolish as mortal law.” Some discussion on nations and borders and territories (which cats are known for) ensued, with some compelling points being made from different perspectives. Borders are made up by humans, the lines that divide nations are largely imaginary, and the fact that nature itself ignores them highlights how unnatural they are. : Astronaut who spent 178 days in space says humanity lives in a 'lie'.From orbit, Earth does not look divided by countries or borders. It appears as a single, radiant blue sphere floating in darkness. There are no lines separating continents, no flags marking territory.… pic.twitter.com/11YUwmM3Dc— All day Astronomy (@forallcurious) February 24, 2026 Unnatural doesn’t automatically mean bad or unnecessary, of course. Clothing is unnatural, but we generally agree on the benefits of it. However, we also don’t wage war and kill one another over clothing (for the most part). Borders serve some important purposes for governance. But there’s certainly room for debate about how they are handled. Rethinking the concept of freedom of movement Watching a cat freely roam back and forth across the U.S.-Canada border puts the concept of “freedom of movement” in the spotlight. We have freedom of movement within the United States thanks to the 14th Amendment of the Constitution. Our individual states have defined borders, but they are not enforced as lines that require a formal process to cross. But international borders don’t work like that. Except when they do, of course. The European Union allows citizens to cross international borders without restriction, despite being made up of sovereign nations with borders and separate governments and laws. And it’s not like that was always the case on that continent. Look at the centuries of near-constant war between European nations over territory and identity. And now, citizens of EU member nations travel freely across one another’s borders. It’s quite a remarkable turnaround. Stray dog accidentally becomes the first to cross the Romania-Hungary border after Romania became a full member of the European Union's Schengen area.pic.twitter.com/TroXkb3Q1Y— Massimo (@Rainmaker1973) August 22, 2025 Is a whole world like that possible in the future? Few could have imagined the current reality of the European Union during the two World Wars, so you never know. Perhaps Louis Vuitton can help us at least envision that world, even if it feels like a slim possibility right now. The post A cat keeps illegally crossing the Canada-U.S. border. The jokes about him are actually thought-provoking. appeared first on Upworthy.