FAMOUS CAT-LOVERS

This page features famous cat-lovers, and their cats

redpaw.gif John Ritter, Actor, loved his pet cats.

redpaw.gif Ian Anderson from the rock bank Jethro Tull.

redpaw.gif Mollie Hardwick [1916-2003], famous author, had a cat called Hudson.

redpaw.gif Jason Singh from the Australian rock band Taxiride.

redpaw.gif Ian Anderson the band member from Jethro Tull witters on about Cats.

redpaw.gif Freddie Mercury loved his cats who were named: Tom, Jerry, Oscar, Tiffany, Delilah, Goliath, Miko, Romeo and Lily.

redpaw.gif Ernest Hemingway: Author. Hemingway owned 30 Cats. His most unusual cat was a six-toed cat given to him by a ship's captain.

redpaw.gif Sir Winston Churchill: Prime Minister of England [1874 - 1965]. Sir Winston owned an orange tabby cat named Jock. He commissioned a painting of Jock, who slept in his bed every night and was even taken to all the wartime cabinet meetings.

redpaw.gif Nostradamus: Seer and Prophet [1503 - 1566]. The French Astrologer had a cat named Grimalkin.

redpaw.gif Edward Lear: Artist and Author [1812-1888]. Edward was devoted to his tabby cat, Foss. His devotion was so great that when he decided to move to San Remo, Italy, he instructed his architect to design a replica of his old home in England so Foss would not be disturbed and suffer a minimum of distress after the move. Lear’s drawings of his stripped tabby cat are well-known, especially those which accompany his rhyme, The Owl and the Pussycat. When Foss died, he was buried in Lear's italian garden.

redpaw.gif Abraham Lincoln: American President [1809]. Abraham Lincoln came into presidential office accompanied by Tabby, his son's cat. Tabby was the first of several White House cats.

redpaw.gif Sir Walter Scott: Poet and Author [1771 - 1832]. Author of Rob Roy and Ivanhoe. Sir Walter was also an editor, critic and deputy sheriff of Selkirk in 1799. Absorbed in folklore and the supernatural, Scott was devoted to cats, and a portrait of him by John Watson Gordon shows the author at work at his desk with his tabby, Hinx, lying close by. This Tomcat was known to terrorize Scott's dogs.

redpaw.gif Sir Isaac Newton: Scientist and Philosopher. Sir Isaac, famous for his laws of motion and gravity, was a confirmed cat lover who was deeply concerned about the welfare of his feline friends. Therefore, so his research would go uninterrupted, and his cats should not feel restricted and be at liberty to wander freely in and out when the doors were closed, he invented the cat-flap.

redpaw.gif Michel de Montaigne: French Author [1533 - 1592]. One of Michel's famous quotes: “When I play with my cat, who knows whether she is not amusing herself with me more than I with her?”

redpaw.gif Alexander Dumas: Author of The Three Musketeers. Dumas owned a cat called Mysouff. This cat was known for his extrasensory perception of time. Mysouff could perdict what time his master would finish work, even when his master was working late.

redpaw.gif Amy Carter: Daughter of Jimmy Carter. Amy owned a number of cats including a Siamese cat with a peculiar name "Misty Malarky Ying Yang".

redpaw.gif Renoir and Monet: French Artists. The French artists loved cats and depicted them in several paintings.

redpaw.gif Charles Dickens: Author. Charles' cat, Willamena, produced a litter of kittens in his study. Dickens was determined not to keep the kittens, but he fell in love with one female kitten who was known as "Master's Cat". She kept him company in his study as he wrote, and when she wanted his attention she would snuff out his reading candle.

redpaw.gif Dr Albert Schweitzer: 1952 Nobel Peace Prize Winner. Schweitzer became ambidextrous because of his cat Sizi. When Sizi would fall asleep on his arm he began writing prescriptions with his other hand.

redpaw.gif Dr Samuel Johnson: Compiler of the first dictionary. Johnson had a pet cat named Hodge whom he fed oysters and other luxurious treats.

redpaw.gif Edgar Allan Poe: Author. Poe used cats as symbols of the sinister in several of his stories, although he himself owned and loved cats. He used his tortoiseshell cat "Catarina" as the inspiration for his story 'The Black Cat'. Catarina was a house cat and during the winter of 1846 when Poe was destitute and his wife dying of tuberculosis, Catarina would curl up on the bed with the dying woman and provide warmth.

redpaw.gif Florence Nightingale: Humanitarian. Florence owned a large Persian cat named "Bismarck". She owned more than 60 cats in her lifetime.

redpaw.gif Prophet Mohammed. The prophet Mohammed loved cats. The story is told that at one day when he was being called to pray he noticed his cat, Muezza sleeping on the folds of his sleeve. Rather than disturb the sleeping cat, Mohammed cut off the sleeve of his robe.

redpaw.gif Pope Leo XII. Pope Leo owned a grayish-red cat with black stripes called Micette. Micette was born in the Vatican and lived with the Pope.

redpaw.gif Horace Wadpole: British Essayist. Horace Wadpole wrote lovingly about his cats.

redpaw.gif Eyptian Sultan. A thirteenth century Egyptian sultan left his entire fortune to the needy cats of Cairo. For many years afterwards homeless cats received a free meal daily.

redpaw.gif Rutherford B Hayes: US President. The first Siamese cat brought to the United States was a gift to the President.

redpaw.gif T.S. Elliot: Nobel Prize-winning British Poet and Playwright. T.S. Eliot was a cat lover and he wrote an entire book of poems about cats. His "Old Possum's Book of Practical Cats" was set to music by Andrew Lloyd Weber and became the long-running musical, Cats.

redpaw.gif Theodore Roosevelt. Theodore had a polydactyl grey cat called "Slippers".

redpaw.gif Theophile Steinlen: Swiss Artist. Steinlen's Paris home was known as "CatsCorner".

redpaw.gif Petrarch: Poet. Petrarch was said to have been even more devoted to his cat than to the memory of his great love, Laura.

redpaw.gif Vanna White: TV Celebrity. The world-famous letter turner owns two cats that she mentions frequently on "Wheel of Fortune".

redpaw.gif Victor Hugo: Author. Hugo is considered the greatest author in the history of French literature. He wrote fondly in his diary about his cats.

redpaw.gif Harriet Beecher Stowe: American Author. Harriet had a large cat called Calvin. He arrived on Harriet's doorstep one day, moved in, took over the household, demanding food and asserting his rights. Harriet enjoyed his company and Calvin often sat on her shoulder as she wrote.

redpaw.gif Other Famous Authors who loved and owned cats: Mark Twain, Paul Gallico, H.H. Munro, Walter de la Mare, Thomas Hardy, Lewis Carroll, Beatrix Potter, H.G. Wells, and W.B. Yeats.

redpaw.gif Patrick Stewart found his beloved cat (which he named 'Bella') on the set of STAR TREK: THE NEXT GENERATION (1987).

redpaw.gif Halle Berry fell in love with her cat Play-Doh while on the set of her movie, "Catwoman".

redpaw.gif Art Bell owns four cats and often talks about them on his show.

redpaw.gif Ian Anderson from Jethro Tull fame offers kitten advice.

redpaw.gif Other celebrity ailurophiles: Sue Grafton, Joan Embery, Jo Stanley, Jay Leno, Ellen Degeneres, Kirsten Dunst, Jake Gyllenhaal, Marisa Tomei, Kate Beckinsale, Tony Amendola, George W. Bush, Billy Crystal, Christina Ricci, Bo Derek, Linda Evans, Martha Stewart, Suzanne Somers, Victoria Principle, Andy Serkis, Joan Van Ark, Vanna White, Pamela Hensley, Warren Beatty, Ronald Reagan, Ann Margret, Whitney Houston, Joe Namath, Antonio Banderas, Rachael Bella, Sally Jessie Raphael, Vivica A. Fox, Betty White, Aaron Neville, Yoko Ono, Frank Zappa, The Osbornes, and Sean Astin.

redpaw.gif Wikipedia: Pets of Famous People


All contents are Copyright © G. Phillips


home1

Back to HOME page