Fans of Felines is written/compiled by
Patrick Roberts
Copyright © 2003-10 Purr 'n' Fur UK

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Amis, Kingsley

(1922-1995)

Sarah Snow

English writer Amis was convinced that his long-haired white cat with green eyes was trying to speak English. He wrote:
I was impressed to hear her say 'Hello'
Not like a person, true
It might not sound quite right to you
More of a simple squeak or squawk —
Still, that's what happens when cats talk.

Amory, Cleveland

(1917-1998)

Polar Bear

American writer Amory wrote three books about his first cat, which he had rescued from a New York street after being until then a 'dog person'.

Anderson, Ian

(b. 1947)

Rupi, TJ, Tiffen, Sambhar, Bhagee

The lead singer of the rock group Jethro Tull is a committed ailurophile and has a passion for Bengals in particular. He has pages on the web dedicated to cats and their care.

Borodin, Alexander

(1833-1887)

Ryborov

Well-known Russian classical composer and chemist who had many cats. Ryborov was one who learned to fish through holes in the ice in winter: 'Ryborov' means 'fisherman'.

Byron, Lord George

(1788-1824)

Beppo

Poet Byron's cat was said to drink milk from a skull, and 'helped' to write many of his master's poems.

Capek, Karel

(1890-1938)

Pudlenka

Czech writer who loved cats and had dozens of them during his life. The stray Pudlenka arrived on his doorstep after an earlier cat had died from poisoning; she later bore a total of 26 kittens, and her daughter Pudlenka II had 21.

Chandler, Raymond

(1888-1959)

Taki

Famous crime author who read the first drafts of his novels to his cat and called her his 'feline secretary'.

Charles I of England

(1600-1649)

Unknown

King Charles treasured his black cat and was convinced it brought him good luck. He could have been right: the day after it died he was arrested by Parliamentary troops.

Chopin, Frédéric

(1810-1849)

Unknown

The renowned Polish composer and virtuoso pianist had a cat that would sometimes run up and down on the piano keys. Legend has it that this prompted Chopin to write 'The Cat Waltz', a very popular piece for helping aspiring pianists to learn how to play — although he did not name the piece thus.

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Chu Hou-Tsung

(1507-66)

Shuang-mei
('Frost-Eyebrows')

An emperor of China who was inseparable from his favourite cat, described as being of 'faintly blue' colour with 'jade-white eyebrows'. Upon her death, the royal favourite was buried beneath a stone tablet engraved with the words, 'The Grave of a Dragon with Two Horns' — an honour normally reserved for humans of great merit.

Churchill, Winston

(1874-1965)

Nelson,
Jock

Churchill was a great cat lover; Nelson would act as a hot-water bottle on the bed. At his country house of Chartwell there was Jock; he was a 'marmalade' cat, Winston's favourite cat colour. In his will he requested that there should always be a marmalade cat at the house, now owned by the National Trust. His wish has been respected and Jock IV is the current (2008) incumbent.

Clemens, Samuel
(Mark Twain)

(1835-1910)

Tammany

The famous American writer also liked to give his cats names such as Apollinaris, Zoroaster, Blatherskite and Sour Mash, saying that they would be good practice for children learning to spell long and difficult words!

Cocteau, Jean

(1889-1963)

Karoun

Cocteau was a multi-talented artist — a novelist, playwright, director, poet, essayist, painter, set designer, and actor. He called Karoun the 'King of Cats'.

Colette

(1873-1954)

La Chatte Dernière

French writer Colette had many cats during her life and they featured in her work. When the last one ('La chatte dernière') died, she spent the last 15 years of her own life without any of the animals, finding it too painful to bear when they died. Two others she had were Saha and Kiki la Doucette.

Curie, Marie

(1867-1934)

Didi

Curie was the scientist who discovered radium and did extensive work on radioactivity.

Dean, James

(1931-1955)

Marcus

Teen film idol Dean was given a Siamese cat called Marcus by Elizabeth Taylor. The night before he was due to go to a car race he gave it to his girlfriend — fortuitously, as it turned out, as he was killed next day in a crash on his way to the race meeting.

Dickens, Charles

(1812-1870)

Williamina

The famous English author for a long time refused to have cats, as he was very fond of birds, but then his daughter gave him a white cat, which produced kittens. All were found homes except a deaf, white one that then became 'the master's cat' and his constant companion.

Dumas, Alexandre

(1802-1870)

Mysouff

When the French writer left his house in the morning his cat would accompany him to a certain point and then return to the house. When Dumas was due to come home later, Mysouff would ask to be let out and would return to the same point and greet his master. The strange thing is that he seemed to know when Dumas was going to be late and on those occasions would remain sleeping. Dumas founded the Feline Defence League.

Eliot, T. S.

(1888-1965)

Jellylorum

T. S. Eliot's cat inspired Old Possum's Book of Practical Cats and appears in it. The work in turn later inspired the very successful musical Cats.

Tsuguharu Foujita

(1886-1968)

Unknown

The Japanese artist lived in Paris and made many art studies of cats.

Frank, Anne

(1929-1945)

Moortje

Moortje was Anne's cat that she had to leave behind when the family went into hiding from the Nazis. She says in her diary that she missed him terribly. But she found that there were two cats when the family arrived at their hiding place. One of them was more aggressive, so she called it Boche, while the other was less aggressive but always won in the end — so she called it Tommy. Later there was a third cat, the pet of a young man who, with his family, later joined the Franks in hiding. That cat was called Mouchi.

Gallico, Paul

(1897-1976)

Unknown

Writer Paul Gallico had several cats and wrote about them in some of his work. He said that once a cat had presented its owner with a mouse, the owner will be forever changed as 'the cat can use you for a doormat. And she will, too.'

Gauthier, Théophile

(1811-1872)

Don Pierrot de Navarre

Don Pierrot was a white cat about whom the French author wrote extensively.

Gibson, Guy, VC

(1918-1944)

Windy

Many WW2 aircrew had cats and other pets that accompanied them on missions. Windy clocked up more air miles than most in the company of Gibson, one of Britain's most decorated bomber pilots of WW2.

Goldberg, Whoopi

(b. 1935)

Oliver Hoyt Goldberg

The American comedienne, actress and singer-songwriter (real name Caryn Johnson) had her cat 'write' to the Obamas after Barack was elected President in 2009 and the family was looking for a puppy, suggesting that instead they take on a 'self-sufficient, tidy and clean' cat.

Hardy, Thomas

(1840-1928)

Cobby

Cobby disappeared after writer Hardy's death, and there is a curious story involving Hardy’s heart, which we won't go into here.

Hemingway, Ernest

(1899-1961)

Snowball

Hemingway was very fond of cats; in 1935 a ship's captain gave him Snowball, a six-toed (polydactyl). She produced many descendants, and some of them remain today among the cats of the Hemingway Museum in Florida.

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Ichigo

(10th/11th century)

Myobu no Otodo

Ichigo, Emperor of Japan from 980 to 1011. Ichigo awarded cats special treatment and high status. His favourite, Myobu no Otodo ('Chief Lady-in-Waiting of the Inner Palace') was awarded a special rank at court and had human ladies-in-waiting appointed to tend to her needs. The hapless owner of a dog that chased her was imprisoned!

Johnson, Samuel

(1709-1784)

Hodge

'A very fine cat indeed', as writer and lexicographer Johnson described him, Hodge loved oysters, which the great man himself would go out to buy.

Klimt, Gustav

(1862-1918)

Katze

Klimt was a famous Viennese painter, the founder of the late-19th-century Secessionist Art Movement in Vienna. A children’s book Klimt and his Cat, by Berenice Capatti, helps young readers to explore his work.

Kuniyoshi, Utagawa

(c1797-1861)

Unknown

The Edo studio of the Japanese master was said to be always full of cats and kittens, which he featured often in his woodcuts.