Famous Cat Lovers

History is filled with famous cat lovers. I've chosen to focus on a few here.

Anne Frank had a white-socked cat named Boche.

Charles Dickens changed the name of his cat from William to Williamina. It was pretty obvious after she became pregnant that something needed to be done.

Charles Lindbergh flew across the Atlantic in 1927 without his kitten, Patsy, because he did not want to risk her life.

Edgar Allan Poe had a cat named Catterina.

Ernest Hemingway became famous for more than his writing. Today in Key West, Florida, at the Ernest Hemingway Home and Museum, is a colony of cats.

They are well cared for by the museum, and limited breeding is allowed to maintain the colony at more than 40 members. About half of them are polydactyl, meaning they have extra toes.

Some of them are descendants of Hemingway's six-toed cat called Snow White. He originally acquired her from a ship's captain, giving rise to the name, "Hemingway's cat" for polydactyls.

Florence Nightingale had numerous Persian cats (more than 60). She named them after famous public figures such as Gladstone and Bismarck.

Famous Cat Quotes

What greater gift than the love of a cat?
-Charles Dickens

I wish I could write as mysterious as a cat.
-Edgar Allan Poe

A cat has absolute emotional honesty: human beings for one reason or another, may hide their feelings, but a cat does not.
-Ernest Hemingway

Harriet Beecher Stowe and Mark Twain lived next door to each other and their cats interacted. Their respective cats wrote letters to each other, probably with a little help from both of these famous authors.

Mark Twain revered cats, and gave his cats names that were tongue twisters to help children learn pronunciation. He had cats named Beelzebub, Buffalo bill, Blatherskite, Zoroaster, and Apollinaris.

The prophet Mohammed is said to have cut off his sleeve so as not to disturb his cat, Muezza, who was sleeping on it.

One of the most famous cat lovers in history, Winston Churchill had a number of cats, including Nelson, Margate, and Jock. Nelson had his own chair reserved for him next to Churchill in the Cabinet.

Famous Cats

Cat Lovers Only

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