Cats and academia have a rich history. From writing papers and urinating on books, to providing the wonderful fodder for procrastination that is , we academics love cats (OK, perhaps? academics).?

The Third Annual Academics with Cats Awards, organised by , celebrates academic cats and injects a bit of fun into the pre-Christmas panic.

Almost 2,000 people voted this year, from a shortlist drawn from 500 entries.?

The votes have been tallied and we are pleased to announce Best in Show and the winners from the four CATegories (Academics and their Cats, Bookish Cats, Cats on Computers and Research Assistants).?

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And the winner is¡­

¡°What? A laptop is a type of lap. Now pat me, dammit.¡±

¡ª Mike Jones (@mikejonesmelb)

from the University of Melbourne takes the award for Best in Show (and the Cats on Computers category) this year, with his candid photo of his cheeky kitty taking over his laptop.?Photos of cats on computers were particularly popular, perhaps unsurprising given how long we spend on our laptops.?

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Category winners this year were:

¡°I have studied many philosophers and many cats. The wisdom of cats is infinitely superior.¡± - Hippolyte Taine

¡ª klugman (@klugman)

@Klugman, a ¡°¡±, won the Academics and their Cats section with this excellent shot of some relaxing reading.

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Flavia reads my newly-published article

¡ª Katie Hodges-Kluck (@KLHKhistorian)

, a medieval historian at the Marco Institute,?with her cat Flavia, still focused after six chapters, won the Bookish Cats section.

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Just trying to take some notes.

¡ª Lia Dykstra (@lidykstra)

Grad student ¡¯s cute research ¡°assistant¡± (who doesn¡¯t appear to be helping very much) won the Research Assistants?category. ? ??

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The runners-up this year were:

Another hard day at work with my research assistants Spike and Drusilla.

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¡ª Sam Ferguson (@SJFresearch)

French literature researcher ?with his research assistants Spike and Drusilla.

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Anxiously waiting for research grant...

¡ª Min Seok Kim (@JohnGoesToClass)

¡¯s cat, anxiously waiting for news on that research grant.

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My entry for the 2016 Academics with Cats awards

¡ª Dana Gold (@Gold_Dana)

Western University?PhD candidate Dana Gold,?whose?cat is trying to find the right cable.

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Keeping up with the literature is hard work!

¡ª Fredric Bauer (@Kreml)

¡¯s fluffy moggy taking a break from reviewing drafts.

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Finally, in case you missed it, last year¡¯s winner was Kirsty Liddard with her serially tweeted cat,?.

is unhappy with his his latest draft of ¡®Posthuman Politics: The Role of the Feline¡¯?

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¡ª Dr Kirsty Liddiard (@KirstyLiddiard1)

Glen Wright runs the??Twitter feed, covering the quirky side of academia.