A Few Famous Fervent Feline Fanciers

 

If you like cats, you are in highly distinguished company. Below follow a few facts on famous fervent feline fanciers.

 

Politicians

 

Sir Winston Churchill (1874-1965), UK prime minister during World War 2.

The statesman insisted on always eating with his ginger cat, Jock and wouldn’t start the meal until his pet was brought. Jock slept with his master and even attended numerous war-time Cabinet meetings.

 

Abraham Lincoln (1809 – 1865), American president.

His cat, aptly named Tabby, was the first of several White House cats.

 

Vladimir Ilyich Lenin (1870 – 1924), founder of the Russian Communist party and first head of the Soviet government.

On several occasions he was photographed and filmed while holding and petting various cats.

 

Marie Antoinette (1755-1793), Queen of France as wife of King Louis XVI.

Her cats roamed freely around the table during court gatherings.

 

El Daher Beybars (13th century), Egyptian sultan.

He was devoted to cats and left his entire fortune to the needy cats of Cairo. In a garden known as Cat’s Orchard, cats received regular free meals. The tradition continues to this day.

 

 

Clergymen

 

Mohammed (570-632), prophet and founder of the Muslim faith.

He loved cats, while considering dogs as unclean. It is said that he once cut off a sleeve of his robe in order not to disturb his cat sleeping on it.

 

Pope Leo XII (1760-1829), head of the Roman Catholic Church.

His cat was called Micette, who at times was hidden on his lap under his robes.

 

Pope Benedict XVI (1927- ), head of the Roman Catholic Church.

A cardinal and archbishop of Los Angeles, who was on visit to Rome, declared, “The street talk that the pope loves cats is incorrect. The pope adores cats.”

 

Cardinal Richelieu (1585-1642), French cardinal and minister.

He kept dozens of cats, built a cattery at Versailles and bequeathed money for their maintenance.

 

 

Scientists

 

Sir Isaac Newton (1643-1727), eminent English physicist.

He kept many cats and invented the swinging cat door for them.

 

Nikola Tesla (1856-1943), Serb inventor, physicist and engineer.

Gave his name to the unit of magnetic flux density. He started investigating electricity after noticing sparks generated while stroking his cat Macak.

 

 

Humanitarians

 

Florence Nightingale (1820-1910), humanitarian. 

Over her lifetime, she owned more than 60 cats, the best known of which was a large Persian named "Bismarck".

 

Dr. Albert Schweitzer (1875-1965), German theologian, philosopher and physician, Nobel Peace Prize winner.

Cats played an important role in Dr. Schweitzer's life. Although left-handed, he would often write prescriptions with his right hand because he didn’t want to disturb his cat Sizi who liked to sleep on his left arm. Reportedly, this went on for 23 years. He would similarly wait for another cat to wake up before using papers it was sleeping on. He originated the quote: "There are two means of refuge from the miseries of life: music and cats."

 

 

Authors and Poets

 

Charles Dickens (1812-1870), eminent English author.

His favorite cat, known as "Master's Cat", kept him company in his study as he wrote. She was known to snuff out his reading candle to get his attention.

 

Victor Hugo (1802-1885), eminent French author.

In his diary, he wrote fondly about his cats.

 

T.S. Eliot (1888-1965), British poet and playwright, Nobel Prize winner.

A fervent cat lover, he wrote an entire book of poems about cats, while his Old Possum's Book of Practical Cats was set to music and became the long-running musical, Cats.

 

Edgar Allan Poe (1809-1849), American Author.

Although Poe used cats as symbols of the sinister in several of his stories, he himself owned and loved cats. One of them, Catarina, was the inspiration for his story “The Black Cat”.

 

Mark Twain (1835-1910), American humorist and author.

Twain kept 11 cats at his farm. He gave them strange names, s.a.  Sour Mash, Apollinaris, Zoroaster, Blatherskite and Beelzebub. He wrote about them, "I simply can't resist a cat, particularly a purring one. They are the cleanest, cunningest and most intelligent things I know, outside of the girl you love, of course."

 

Edward Lear (1812-1888), English artist and author.

Known for his famous limerick ‘The Owl and the Pussy Cat’, Lear was devoted to Foss, his tabby cat whom he depicted in his famous drawings. When he moved to San Remo, Italy, he instructed his architect to design a replica of his old home in England so Foss would suffer a minimum of distress from the move.

 

Ernest Hemingway (1899-1961), American author.

Hemingway shared his Key West home with more than 30 cats, among them a rare six-toed tomcat. Today many of the numerous cats on the grounds still possess the unusual six toes.  Hemingway once declared, "A cat has absolute emotional honesty, unlike human beings".

 

Sir Walter Scott (1771 -1832), famous Scottish poet and author.

Scott was devoted to cats, and on a portrait of him  he’s seen at work at his desk with his tabby, Hinx, lying close by.

 

William Wordsworth(1770 – 1850), major English romantic poet.

Famous for writing cat poems.

 

The Bronte Sisters: Charlotte, Emily and Anne, eminent 19th century English authors.

All three sisters were well-known as cat lovers.  Their novels, poetry and diaries often depicted their close relationships with their felines.

 

Raymond Chandler (1888-1959), American Author, creator of  Phillip Marlowe private eye.

Chandler talked to his black Persian, Taki, as though she was human and called her his secretary because she sat on his manuscripts as he was working on them.

 

Jean Maurice Cocteau (1889–1963), French poet, author and filmmaker.

He dedicated his work Drôle de Ménage to his cat Karoun, whom he described as "the king of cats." His famous quotes include:  “I love cats because I enjoy my home; and little by little, they become its visible soul”.

 

Other famous cat loving poets and authors:

Lord Byron, Lewis Carroll, Beatrix Potter, Montaigne, Anatole France, Alexandre Dumas, Harriet Beecher Stowe and Petrarch.

 

 

Military

 

Robert E. Lee (1807-1870), Confederate army General during the American Civil War.

Lee had several cats and referred to them often in letters to his family. He alto took them to his tent at Camp Cooper.

 

 

Artists

 

Pierre Auguste Renoir (1841-1919), eminent painter.

This French master loved cats and depicted them in several paintings. 

 

 

Musicians

 

John Lennon (1940-1980), famous Beatles musician.

As a boy, he reportedly cycled regularly to the fishmonger's to buy his cat’s favorite fish. He and his first wife Cynthia had about 10 cats.

 

Freddie Mercury (1946-1991), founder of the rock group Queen.

He wrote a song for his favorite tortoiseshell cat, called Delilah after her, and also dedicated his first solo album to his 9 cats. When on tour, he would call home to talk to them.

 

Katy Perry (1984 - ), American singer, songwriter and actress.

Katy Perry’s cat is called…Kitty Purry. Purry is almost as famous, having inspired Katy’s debut perfume, Purr. Err…I should have said “purrfume”.