This is a list of real, famous cats which achieved some degree of popularity either in their own right or by association with someone famous.
Before the modern era
Nedjem or Nojem (Egyptian: nḏm "Sweet One" or "Sweetie"), 15th century BC. The cat of Puimre, second priest of Amun during the reign of Queen Hatshepsut. Depicted on a damaged relief from Puimre's tomb, Nedjem is the earliest known cat to bear an individual name.[1][2]
Ta-Miu (Egyptian: tꜣ mjw "She-Cat"), 14th century BC. The cat of Crown Prince Thutmose, mummified after her death and buried in a decorated sarcophagus in Prince Thutmose's own tomb following his own early demise.[3]
Pangur Bán (Old Irish "White Pangur"; the meaning of the latter word is unclear), 8th-9th century AD. The cat of an otherwise unknown Irish monk, who wrote a poem cataloguing the similarities between the cat's character and his own.
Famous in own right
Space flight
Félicette, the only cat ever launched into space. Launched by the French Centre d'Enseignement et de Recherches de Médecine Aéronautique (CERMA) on 18 October 1963, Félicette was recovered alive after a 15-minute flight and a descent by parachute. Félicette had electrodes implanted into her brain, and the recorded neural impulses were transmitted back to Earth.[4]
By country
Canada
Tuxedo Stan, a cat who ran for mayor of Halifax, Nova Scotia.[5]
Czech Republic
Micka, Czech Republic's "First Cat" belonging to the President Petr Pavel
New Zealand
Mittens, a Turkish Angora cat who used to roam the streets of central Wellington, especially in Te Aro, before his relocation to Auckland
Gacek in SzczecinGacek, a male domestic cat with tuxedo fur, who over the years 2020–2023 has become a prominent tourist attraction in the city of Szczecin, Poland, and received widespread attention from international media. The feline maintains a five star rating on Google Maps.[6]
Hamish McHamish (1999 – 11 September 2014), a long-haired ginger cat that was adopted by the citizens of the town of St Andrews, Fife, Scotland, and has had a statue built in his honour. Something of a local feline celebrity with tourists and students, he became famous after the publication of a book titled "Hamish McHamish: Cool Cat About Town". In 2013, a bronze statue was crowd funded in his honour, unveiled in April 2014.
Nelson, Prime Minister Winston Churchill's cat, who resided at #10 Downing Street and elsewhere during the Blitz. Noted in Erik Larson's book The Splendid and the Vile and elsewhere.
Hank the Cat, a Maine Coon who ran for Senate in the commonwealth of Virginia in the 2012 US elections. He finished in third place behind winner Democrat Tim Kaine.[9]
Jorts, office pet cat, organised labour mascot.[10]
Tabby and Dixie, Abraham Lincoln's cats. Lincoln once remarked that Dixie "is smarter than my whole cabinet."[13]
Tiger and Blacky, US President Calvin Coolidge's cats when he and his family lived in the White House. Coolidge was known for hiding the cats about the house, prior to and during his presidency, leaving his wife, Grace Coolidge, to find and rescue them.[14]
Grumpy Cat, who was ranked as the world's richest cat.
Big Floppa, a caracal from Russia (real name Gregory or Gosha for short) who gained popularity as an internet meme after being posted by his owner on Instagram.[16]
Smudge (Canada), also known as "Table Cat", who became part of the woman yelling at a cat Internet meme in 2019. The meme consisted of a screencap of a woman pointing angrily from The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills paired with a picture of Smudge at a dining table, seemingly looking confused.[21]
Stepan, a Ukrainian cat with more than one and a half million followers on Twitter and Instagram.
Tara (US), a family cat from Bakersfield, California, who saved a four-year-old boy from a dog attack in 2014, and became a "viral Internet sensation" when household surveillance footage was published.[22]
Tater Tot, a disabled orange kitten with "several malformations" including a cleft palate and "completely curly" legs. Became famous in 2023, for his mismatched splints and grumpy expression, Tater Tot died suddenly only weeks after making headlines for being a "tiny inspiration".[23][24]
Zoe the Cat, PhD, a cat accredited by the American Psychotherapy Association, as part of a commentary about the state of accreditation within the industry by Dr. Steve Eichel.[25]
Thurston Waffles, a popular cat turned into an internet meme, known for his particular meows and behaviour; he died on September 2022.
Henrietta, the now-deceased cat of New York Times foreign correspondent Christopher S. Wren, made famous by the book, The Cat Who Covered the World.[28]
Jeoffry, the visionary poet Christopher Smart's cat, who is praised as "surpassing in beauty" in his owner's poem "Jubilate Agno".[29] (Jeoffry was Smart's only companion during his confinement in an asylum in 1762–63.) The Jeoffry extract is set as a treble solo in the festival cantata, Rejoice in the Lamb Op 30, by Benjamin Britten.
Tao, male seal-point Siamese; inspiration for a main character in the 1961 novel, The Incredible Journey.
Colonel Meow, a Himalayan-Persian mix who became famous on social media websites for his extremely long fur and scowling face. As of 2014, he holds the Guinness world record for longest hair on a cat (nine inches). Died 2014.
Cygnus, the cat with the longest tail (17.5 inches).[30][31]
Flossie, Guinness World Records verified oldest cat alive (as of January 2024)[update]; born in 1995; owned by Victoria Green of Orpington, England.[34]
Himmy from Cairns, Australia the fattest cat on record who weighed 21.3 kg (46.8 lbs) at his death in 1986.[35][36]
Meow, once the world's heaviest cat at 39.6 lb (18.0 kg).[37]
Nala Cat, a slightly cross-eyed Siamese-tabby mix. With 4.3 million followers on Instagram and her own brand of cat food, her value was estimated to be $100 million in 2022, making her the richest cat in the world at that time.[38]
Prince Chunk, a shorthair cat alleged to weigh forty-four pounds (two pounds short of the world record).
Smokey, the holder of the Guinness World Record for "Loudest purr by a domestic cat".[39]
Stewie, Guinness World Record holder for world's longest domestic cat from August 2010 until his death 4 February 2013.
Simon, celebrated ship's cat of HMS Amethyst. In addition to being presented with multiple medals, he was the only cat to have won the PDSA's Dickin Medal, for his rat-catching and morale-boosting activities during the Yangtze Incident in 1949. He also received the rank of "Able Seacat".
Matilda, resident cat of the Algonquin Hotel in New York City. The Algonquin was for many years home to the Algonquin Round Table, consisting of such American wits as Dorothy Parker, Alexander Woolcott, and Harpo Marx. There have been nine cats who have called the Algonquin their home since the 1930s, but not all have been female. All the males have been named Hamlet (in deference to the actor John Barrymore), and the females Matilda.[42]
Blackie the Talking Cat, a "talking" cat who was exhibited (for donations) by an unemployed couple on the streets of Augusta, Georgia. Blackie became the subject of a court case, Miles v. City Council of Augusta.
Blue, a Siamese cat taken "hostage" in Gresham, Oregon, in a grocery store in the United States in 1994.
Faith, a London cat that took up residence in St Faith & St Augustine's church (by St Paul's Cathedral) in wartime, and received a PDSA Silver Medal for her bravery in caring for her kitten when the church was bombed.[44]
Fred the Undercover Kitty, a cat famous for assisting the NYPD and Brooklyn District Attorney's Office in 2006.
Lewis, a cat who became infamous after being placed under house arrest.
Little Nicky, the first animal cloned for commercial reasons.
Mike (1908 – January 1929), a cat who guarded the entrance to the British Museum.
Mittens (~2009–present), a ginger Turkish Angora who wanders Wellington, New Zealand, and has a Facebook fanbase who regularly posts photos of him climbing into rental cars, entering businesses, and napping in unusual places.
Nora, a gray tabby cat who apparently amuses herself by playing the piano.
Oscar, a cat fitted with bionic hind legs following an accident in 2009.
Oscar the hospice cat, written up in the New England Journal of Medicine for his uncanny ability to predict which patients will die by curling up to sleep with them hours before their death. To date he has been right 100+ times.[48][49]
Room 8, a tomcat who appeared at Elysian Heights Elementary School in Echo Park, California, at the start of the school year in 1952, returning every day thereafter, before disappearing for the summer, only to return the following September. This behavior continued into the mid-1960s. (Ref. Los Angeles Times)
Rusik, the Russian police sniffer cat in Stavropol, who died in the line of duty fighting against illegal endangered sturgeon fish traffic in 2003.
Scarlett, who in 1996 saved her kittens one by one from a fire in Brooklyn, New York, suffering horrible burns in the process. Named Scarlett by the fireman who rescued her. She became a famous example of the power of a mother's love.[52]
Tibs the Great (November 1950 – December 1964) was the British Post Office's "number one cat" and kept the post office headquarters completely mouse-free during his 14 years of service.
Tiddles, tabby resident of the Ladies' toilet at Paddington Station, London. Thousands of passengers met her and their donations fed her.
F.D.C. Willard, the pen name of Chester, the cat of Jack H. Hetherington, who listed the cat as co-author of several physics papers from 1975 to 1980.
Foss, belonging to Edward Lear; subject of many drawings, some published in The Heraldic Blazon of Foss the Cat; inspired The Owl & the Pussycat; Lear buried Foss in his garden and died himself only two months later
Khouli-Khan, the cat of Thomas Anson is memorialized by the neoclassical "Cat's Monument" in the park at Shugborough Hall, Staffordshire, unless the cat in question is the first cat to circumnavigate the globe in the company of Admiral George Anson on HMS Centurion
Mademoiselle Fifi, (aka Paree) the beloved pet cat of aviator John Moisant. Fifi often accompanied Moisant on his flights, and on 23 August 1910 Mademoiselle Fifi became the first cat to fly across the English Channel during the first aeroplane flight from London-to-Paris. Moisant was killed at New Orleans in December 1910, and a famous photo was published of Fifi attending Moisant's funeral, draped in mourning cover.[citation needed]
Meredith Grey, Olivia Benson, and Benjamin Button, Scottish Folds and a Ragdoll belonging to Taylor Swift.[54] Olivia Benson's worth was estimated to be $97 million in 2023, making her the third-richest pet in the world.[55]
Michi, also known as the Embassy Cat, Julian Assange's cat that lived with him in the Ecuadorian Embassy in London until Assange's arrest.[56][57][58][59][60]
Shorty Blackwell, a cat that belonged to Micky Dolenz of The Monkees, and was the subject of a song written from the cat's point of view, called "Shorty Blackwell".[62]
Sprite, belonging to Bill Watterson, creator of Calvin and Hobbes; she was used as inspiration for some of Hobbes' physical features and behaviors, such as his habit of pouncing on Calvin.[65]
^Davies, Norman de Garis (1922). The Tomb of Puyemrê at Thebes, Volume I: The Hall of Memories. Robb de Peyster Tytus Memorial Series II. New York: Metropolitan Museum of Art. p. 37. ISBN978-1-61-981068-6.
^Guinness World Records 2010. Bantam; Reprint edition. 2010. p. 320. ISBN978-0-553-59337-2. The oldest cat ever was Creme Puff, who was born on August 3 1967 and lived until August 6 2005—38 years 3 days in total.
^Oldest cat ever, Guinness World Records Corporate, retrieved 20 April 2012
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