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.
Criteria for inclusion
This list provides an index to encyclopedic information which does not always merit its own article. Edits of uncertain quality could be discussed on the talk page for feedback from other editors.
To be included in this list, cats should be either (a) the subject of an independent article which meets notability guidelines, or (b) based on reliable sources (with inline citations for each item) In the latter case, there should be significant coverage which addresses the topic directly and in detail. The cat must have attracted attention over a period of time. Only one entry per cat; if there is no compelling reason for it to be in a category such as "ship's cat", list it under country.
Please note "association with famous people" means more than simple possession, entries in the Guinness book of records are often the result of self-promotion, and internet memes about pets are viral phenomena built on social media, which also amounts to "self-promotion and publicity".
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]
Muezza, 7th century AD. The (possibly apocryphal) cat of the Islamic prophet Muhammad.
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
Ecuador
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.[6][7][8][9][10]
Jersey
Oscar, a cat in Jersey fitted with 'bionic' hind limbs designed by vet Noel Fitzpatrick following an accident in 2009.
New Zealand
Mittens (~2009–present), a ginger Turkish Angora who wandered Wellington, New Zealand especially in Te Aro, before his relocation to Auckland. He has a Facebook fanbase who regularly post photos of him climbing into rental cars, entering businesses, and napping in unusual places.
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.[11]
Tombili, popular street cat from Istanbul who got a statue after his death.[13]
Russia
Rusik, the Russian police sniffer cat in Stavropol, who died in the line of duty fighting against illegal endangered sturgeon fish traffic in 2003.
Ukraine
Stepan (Ukrainian: Степан) is a striped cat from Kharkiv, who became famous worldwide during the COVID-19 pandemic. His Instagram page helped raise support for Ukrainian animals after the Russian invasion of Ukraine in 2022. Stepan was appointed as an 'ambassador' by the Ministry of Culture and Information Policy as part of their 'Save Ukrainian Culture' campaign. In 2024, after Stepan became ill from the continuing attacks, he and his owner relocated to Germany.
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.
Nala, a cat popular with commuters, known for sitting on ticket barriers at Stevenage railway station
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.
Beerbohm, a cat that resided at the Gielgud Theatre in London.
Crimean Tom, a cat that helped British Army troops find food after the Siege of Sevastopol
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.[14]
Mike (1908 – January 1929), a cat who guarded the entrance to the British Museum.
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.
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.
Fred the Undercover Kitty, a cat famous for assisting the NYPD and Brooklyn District Attorney's Office in 2006.
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.[22]
Jorts, office pet cat, organised labour mascot.[26]
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)
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.[27]
Mayor Stubbs, a cat who was honorary mayor of the town of Talkeetna, Alaska, from 1997 until his death in 2017
CC (Copy Cat, or Carbon Cat), the first cloned cat.
Lewis, a cat who became infamous after being placed under house arrest.
Little Nicky, the first animal cloned for commercial reasons.
Nora, a gray tabby cat who apparently amuses herself by playing the piano.
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.[29][30]
On the Internet
Grumpy Cat, who was ranked as the world's richest cat.
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.[35]
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.[36]
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".[37][38]
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.[39]
Catarina, Edgar Allan Poe's pet cat and the inspiration for his story "The Black Cat".[citation needed]
Cleo (1982 - c. 2006), a black cat owned by author Helen Brown and her son Sam. Cleo featured in Brown’s 2010 bestselling novel Cleo.
Dewey Readmore Books, the library cat from Spencer, Iowa. Born Nov 1987; abandoned at the Library in Jan 1988; died (euthanized) December 2006. Subject of a best-selling 2008 book, Dewey: The Small-Town Library Cat Who Touched the World[41]
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.[42]
Jeoffry, the visionary poet Christopher Smart's cat, who is praised as "surpassing in beauty" in his owner's poem "Jubilate Agno".[43] (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.
In music
Delilah, belonging to the Queen frontman Freddie Mercury; Mercury paid tribute to Delilah, a female tortoiseshell cat, on the Queen album, Innuendo.
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.
Creme Puff (1967–2005), Guinness World Records verified longest-lived cat, at just over 38 years; owned by Jake Perry of Austin, Texas[46][47]
Cygnus, the cat with the longest tail (17.5 inches).[44][45]
Flossie, Guinness World Records verified oldest cat alive (as of January 2024)[update]; born in 1995; owned by Victoria Green of Orpington, England.[48]
Himmy from Cairns, Australia the fattest cat on record who weighed 21.3 kg (46.8 lbs) at his death in 1986.[49][50]
Meow, once the world's heaviest cat at 39.6 lb (18.0 kg).[51]
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.[52]
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".[53]
Stewie, Guinness World Record holder for world's longest domestic cat from August 2010 until his death 4 February 2013.
Towser "The Mouser" (1963–1987) of Glenturret Distillery in Crieff, Scotland, holds the Guinness World Record for the most mice caught (28,899).[54]
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".
Trim of HMS Reliance, and HMS Investigator, the first cat to circumnavigate Australia. Companion of Matthew Flinders.
Unsinkable Sam of the German battleship Bismarck, HMS Cossack, and HMS Ark Royal. All three ships were torpedoed, but Sam survived each sinking and retired to a home on dry land. The most famous mascot of the British Royal Navy.
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.[56]
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
Mademoiselle Fifi, (aka Paree) the cat of American aviator John Moisant. Fifi accompanied Moisant during the first aeroplane flight from London-to-Paris on 23 August 1910. After Moisant was killed at New Orleans in December 1910, a photo was published of Fifi attending Moisant's funeral, draped in mourning cover.[citation needed]
Olivia Benson, a Scottish Fold belonging to Taylor Swift.[58] Olivia Benson's worth was estimated to be $97 million in 2023, making her the third-richest pet in the world.[59]
Snacks, belonging to Bethany Cosentino of Best Coast. Snacks was featured on the cover of the band's debut album Crazy for You, and Snacks and Cosentino were featured together in a PETA ad campaign.[61][62]
Sprite, belonging to Bill Watterson, creator of Calvin and Hobbes; she was an inspiration for some of Hobbes' physical features and behaviors, such as his habit of pouncing on Calvin.[63]
^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. ISBN 978-1-61-981068-6.
^"First named cat". Guinness World Records. Retrieved 14 December 2022.
^Fletcher, Joann (2000). Egypt's Sun King—Amenhotep III. London: Duncan Baird Publishers. p. 112. ISBN 1-900131-09-9.
^Blink, Thomas (17 September 2012). "Tuxedo Stan a purr-fect candidate for mayor of Halifax". yahoo! news. Retrieved 14 June 2016.
^Schwartz, Matthew S. "The Mystery Of Julian Assange's Cat". npr.org. Retrieved 24 June 2023.
^Kaur, Harmeet (11 April 2019). "Whatever happened to Julian Assange's cat?". CNN. Retrieved 24 June 2023.
^Ap, Tiffany (10 May 2016). "'Counter-purrveillance': Julian Assange gets a kitten for company". CNN. Retrieved 24 June 2023.
^"Julian Assange given feline ultimatum by Ecuador". BBC News. 16 October 2018. Retrieved 24 June 2023.
^Thebault, Reis (12 April 2019). "The mystery of Julian Assange's cat: Where will it go? What does it know?". Washington Post. Retrieved 24 June 2023.
^"Kot Gacek · Kaszubska 16, 71–899 Szczecin, Poland". Kot Gacek · Kaszubska 16, 71–899 Szczecin, Poland. Retrieved 29 August 2023.
^"The beloved cat that called Istanbul's Hagia Sophia home has died". Lonely Planet.
^"Istanbul's phenomenal cat Tombili dies". Hürriyet Daily News. 10 August 2016. Archived from the original on 4 December 2022.
^Roberts, Patrick. "Faith, the London Church Cat". Famous Felines. Purr 'n' Fur. Retrieved 16 February 2007.
^Lynch, Steven (14 June 2004). "Wisden's only animal". Cricinfo. Wisden. Retrieved 16 February 2007.
^Kelly, Kate (15 August 2012). "The Pets of Woodrow Wilson (1856–1924)". America Comes Alive. Retrieved 17 December 2018.
^"Ford Family White House Pets". Gerald R. Ford Presidential Library & Museum. Retrieved 17 December 2018.
^"Abraham Lincoln's Cats". Presidential Pet Museum. 9 January 2014. Retrieved 14 June 2016.
^Pietrusza, David. ""Wombats and Such": Calvin and Grace Coolidge and Their Pets". Archived from the original on 3 February 2018. Retrieved 14 June 2016.
^Rogers, Kate (28 January 2022). "Relax, America: Willow, the White House Cat, Has Arrived". The New York Times. Retrieved 28 January 2022.
^"Library cat outlasts councilman that wanted him gone". CBS News. 16 December 2016. Retrieved 2 January 2023.
^Auletta, Kate (31 August 2011), "UPDATE: Jack The Cat, JFK Lost Cat, Stranded At Airport During Irene, American Airlines Launches Search", Global Pulse, Huffington Post, retrieved 15 November 2011
^Brady, Paul (26 October 2011), "Lost 'Jack The Cat' Finally Found At New York's JFK Airport", Global Pulse, Huffington Post, retrieved 15 November 2011
^Brady, Paul (7 November 2011), "'Jack The Cat' Dies After 2 Months At Airport", Global Pulse, Huffington Post, retrieved 15 November 2011
^Kane, Vivian (27 December 2021). "Jorts (and Jean) the Cat Continues To Be a Gift To Us All With Their Pro-Union Twitter Account". The Mary Sue. Retrieved 1 January 2022.
^"Scarlett – Cat of the Century". Heroic Felines. Moggies. Archived from the original on 19 April 2019. Retrieved 16 February 2007.
^"Dusty the Klepto Kitty is a one-cat crime wave". Metro Web UK. Metro. 16 February 2011. Retrieved 28 March 2015.
^"When death comes calling, so does Oscar the cat". 25 July 2007. Retrieved 26 July 2007.
^"Does Oscar the cat predict death? - CNN.com". Retrieved 14 June 2016.
^"Henri, Le Chat Noir". Archived from the original on 16 January 2013. Retrieved 27 December 2012.
^Kooser, Amanda. "Jorts the cat: Everything you need to know about the internet's new favourite cat". CNET. Retrieved 7 July 2022.
^Yip, Waiyee. "How a fluffy orange cat named Jorts stole the internet's heart and became the pro-labor icon 2022 didn't know it needed". Insider. Retrieved 7 July 2022.
^Smith, Adam (22 September 2020). "Longcat, the stretchy feline internet meme, has died aged 18". The Independent. Archived from the original on 16 May 2023. Retrieved 16 May 2023.
^Leskin, Paige (16 December 2019). "How a cat named Smudge's distaste for salad created one of 2019's most popular memes". Business Insider.
^"Tara the hero cat video goes viral". CBS News. 15 May 2014.
^"Brave Stray Kitten Born With Four Malformed Limbs Is 'Tiny Inspiration'". Newsweek. 19 July 2023.
^"Utah-based viral kitten 'Tater Tot' dies suddenly". ABC4 Utah. 2 August 2023.
^Fox, Zoe (1 February 2011). "Believe It: Zoe the Cat, PhD". Time. Retrieved 28 October 2018.
^"The Richest Cat in the World". Retrieved 18 December 2016.
^"Dewey the cat dies in librarian's arms". USA Today. 2 December 2006.
^Wren, Christopher S. (8 November 2000). The Cat Who Covered the World. New York: Simon & Schuster. ISBN 978-0684871004.
^Curry, Neil (2005). Christopher Smart. Northcote House Publishers. pp. 7, 18, 29. ISBN 0746310234.
^ abRahal, Sarah. "Two Farmington Hills felines make the record books". The Detroit News. Retrieved 12 August 2021.
^ abArchived at Ghostarchive and the Wayback Machine: Guinness World Record-holding cats missing after fire. Good Morning America. 16 November 2017. Retrieved 4 September 2021 – via YouTube.
^Guinness World Records 2010. Bantam; Reprint edition. 2010. p. 320. ISBN 978-0-553-59337-2. 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
^Green, Vicki; Shadijanova, Diyora (5 January 2024). "Experience: I own the world's oldest living cat". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 6 January 2024.
^Wilson, Julia. "Cat World Records – General Cat Articles". Retrieved 14 June 2016.
^"'Meow,' 39-Pound Fat Cat, Must Lose Weight Before Adoption From Santa Fe Shelter". International Business Times. 24 April 2012. Retrieved 14 September 2012.
^Lau, Evelyn (1 March 2022). "The top 10 richest pets in the world revealed: which one has a net worth of $500 million?". The National.
^"Loudest purr by a domestic cat". Retrieved 14 June 2016.
^Morris, Hugh (5 February 2016). "New cat stationmaster appointed at Japanese train station". The Telegraph. Retrieved 14 June 2016.
^"Meet Matilda, the Algonquin Hotel Cat". Archived from the original on 4 March 2016. Retrieved 14 June 2016.
^Clark, Victoria (2000) Why angels fall: a journey through Orthodox Europe from Byzantium to Kosovo (Basingstoke, Macmillan Press Ltd) p.352
^Caitlin Petreycik (27 October 2014). "10 Reasons Why Taylor Swift's Cat Olivia Benson Has The Best Life Ever". Seventeen magazine. Retrieved 14 June 2016.
^Dailey, Hannah (4 January 2023). "Taylor Swift's Cat Olivia Benson Is Reportedly Worth $97 Million". Billboard.
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