Cats have long ruled the internet, charming us with their antics in viral videos and adorable photos – but our fascination with felines didn’t begin with social media. Even in the Victorian era, cats were beloved subjects for photographers, appearing in posed portraits and whimsical scenes.
Join us as we step back in time and explore the enduring appeal of cats through the ages – featuring iconic felines and rare, never-before-seen photographs from archives around the world.
Click or scroll through to see some of history’s most famous and beloved cats...
This adorable vintage photograph is part of a 1902 photo series, titled ‘The Globe Kittens'. Photographed by British-Canadian Ernest J. Rowley, it is part of the Canadian Copyright Collection, which now resides at the British Library. Adorable and fluffy, the furballs are pictured in several poses with books and a wicker basket, but not much else is known of them.
As British Library curator Philip Hatfield noted in a post: “We don’t yet know anything about the ‘Globe Kittens’ but it seems a reasonable bet that not many serious photographic curators would have bought and preserved prints of them.” We’re certainly pleased we got to see them.
Aviator John B. Moisant was rarely seen without his feline flying companion, Mademoiselle Fifi. The daredevil kitty flew on 14 documented flights and even joined Moisant and his mechanic when Moisant flew the first flight with a passenger across the English Channel on 23 August 1910. Apparently, she shredded the leather seats on her first five flights, so Moisant, ever the doting owner, wrapped the seats with sisal rope for her to scratch.
Sadly, in December 1910, his plane hit turbulence and he was killed. His feline companion thankfully was not on board, and she reportedly continued flying with Moisant’s sister, Matilde.
This is not just any cat; in the early 1900s, this was the most photographed cat in America. Reportedly, among more than 1,000 images of Arnold Genthe’s photographs in the Library of Congress Collection’s digital library, 82 feature Buzzer, often appearing alongside female stars of New York City’s stage and screen.
But Genthe actually had four cats named Buzzer over the years. As he wrote in his autobiography, As I Remember: “I prefer cats that have a deep purr and for that reason every cat I have owned was called Buzzer.”
Hailed as "the original LOLcat photographer," American Harry Whittier Frees was famous for depicting animals dressed and posed in human situations with props. Reportedly, his "eureka moment" came during a family birthday party. Someone placed a party hat on the family cat, and Frees took a picture. A postcard manufacturer liked the shot so much he used it, and the image was an instant success.
Of course, getting his subjects to pose was challenging. In fact, it reportedly caused Frees so much anxiety that he only photographed his fluffy subjects for three months a year.
Circa 1925, this photo wouldn’t look out of place on the feed of a modern-day catfluencer. These feline residents of Barnes Zoo in Culver City, California, were captured mid-training, with the original caption noting that the cats were being “taught circus tricks, and will have mastered stunts that will surprise when the show hits the road.”
These days, we'd expect a generous supply of treats to convince any cat to perform such antics.
Pictured is a cat named Timmie owned by Bascom N. Timmons, journalist and president of the National Press Club. But, what’s most unusual is the cat’s companion, a canary named Caruso, once belonging to President Calvin Coolidge.
Coolidge gave Caruso to Timmons because the two pets were unlikely friends. The 30th president of the United States was known for having a veritable zoo in the White House, which included everything from a raccoon named Rebecca to tiger cubs, so you could say he had plenty of familiars to spare.
Cats have a knack for slipping into places they don’t belong, but aboard ships, they served an important purpose. Not only did they keep rats and mice under control, but they also boosted the morale of sailors. The cat pictured here, lounging in the sun on the deck of the Durham Castle liner in 1928, seems to be simply enjoying the peaceful vibes.
Of course, one of the most famous ship cats was Jenny, a mouser on the Titanic. Before the ship set sail for New York, Jenny gave birth to a litter of kittens. Accounts of what happened to her vary widely. But, according to Jim Mulholland, a stoker, when the Titanic was docked in Southampton, he saw Jenny carrying her kittens off the ship. Taking it as a bad omen, he decided to leave as well, a decision that saved his life.
While Walt Disney kept pet dogs, here he shows a black-and-white moggie an early drawing of Mickey Mouse. Pictured in 1931, we wonder what the inquisitive feline made of this, given the classic rivalry between cats and mice.
Walt Disney‘s most famous depiction of cats was in The Aristocats, featuring Duchess and Thomas O’Malley. In other films, cats were often painted as sly characters, such as the Siamese cats in Lady and the Tramp.
This tolerant tabby cat looks both majestic and perhaps a little perplexed to be dressed in a winged helmet and breastplate armour, to depict Valkyrie Brünnhilde from Richard Wagner's opera, Der Ring des Nibelungen.
Photographed by Adolph Edward Weidhaas in the 1930s, it’s part of a set of two, which appeared in the exhibit Not an Ostrich: & Other Images from America’s Library at the Library of Congress.
Kittens and curiosity go paw in paw, especially when food is involved. Pictured in 1949, here, young Barbara Baiena enjoys a glass of milk as her kitten tries to crack the mystery of the straw.
With tiny paws on the table and eyes fixed on the milky prize, it’s a snapshot of childhood and companionship, full of curiosity and just a hint of mischief.
A case of art mirroring life, or perhaps art mirroring art. In this whimsical 1950 scene, a tabby cat has her portrait taken by none other than a fellow tabby behind the lens.
Perched patiently on a cushion, the poised subject awaits her close-up, while the feline photographer presumably adjusts his camera, looking all business (and whiskers).
Here, Orangey the cat puts his paw on the dotted line to sign a movie contract on 4 February 1951. The ginger tabby, who was owned by Agnes Murray of California, was to play Rhubarb in a story of a cat that managed a baseball team. Jan Sterling and Ray Milland played supporting roles in the film.
Orangey is the only feline double-winner of the Patsy Award, the animal equivalent to the Oscars. Ten years later, he won his second Patsy, playing Cat in Breakfast at Tiffany's alongside Audrey Hepburn. Nice work if you can get it.
This music-loving feline could certainly give Keyboard Cat Fatso, star of the 2007 internet meme, a run for his money. Here Money lends vocal accompaniment to his mistress in Surrey, England, in 1959.
Keyboard Cat was the first cat-based video internet meme, originally made in 1984 by Charlie Schmidt of his cat seemingly playing a musical keyboard. The video gained popularity when it was later added to the end of a blooper video. It set the stage for the internet’s long-standing love for feline stars.
Dogs and monkeys were the animals usually used by scientists to investigate space, but in October 1963 that changed when Parisian stray Félicette earned the title of the first cat in space.
Fourteen stray cats were gathered by staff at France’s space agency Cerma for selection as feline astronauts. The cats were deliberately not given names to prevent scientists from becoming attached to them. Deemed the correct weight to travel to space was cat C341. Thankfully, after a safe return to Earth, the French press decided the feline explorer had to have a name. They picked Felix, only to discover that C341 was female, so her name was adjusted to Félicette.
Answering to the name Sandy, this fortunate feline reportedly arrived at the Mayfair Hotel in style, chauffeured in a Rolls-Royce alongside his owner, Rita Hooton of South London. The occasion? A unique competition held in 1964 by a leading pet food manufacturer, where the prize was to have your cat weighed against fine gold.
Sandy tipped the scales at 10lbs (4.5kg), earning his mistress a cheque for £2,000, a handsome sum that would be nearly £36,000 ($48k) today.
A ‘fat cat’ in every sense of the term, Joseph weighed 28lbs (12.7kg) when his British owner, Agatha Higgins, passed away in 1969. But the rotund feline wasn't left to fend for himself; his owner bestowed upon him £365 to keep him in the life he was accustomed to. That’s around £5,300 ($7.2k) in today’s money.
Life magazine said it was, “enough to keep Joseph in cream, fish and rabbit steaks, his favourites, until 1976.” Let’s hope this chunky boy lost a few pounds in his later years.
Is this the original Grumpy Cat? It’s unclear if this cat belonged to French actor and mime artist Marcel Marceau, though he was often photographed with felines. Here he is in New York City in 1973, dressed as his iconic character, Bip the Clown.
The cat, meanwhile, wears the classic expression seen on many a feline when picked up – equal parts patient and perturbed, with characteristic 'aeroplane ears'.
Two chequebook-owning cats, Quicksilver and Quince, pictured here in 1973, each received five pence pocket money a week from their loving owner as well as further monetary contributions on saints' days.
Due to their hunting prowess, they donated £2 to the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds each year to pay it back. That’s almost £22 ($28) in today’s money. Their intriguing story was originally broadcast by the BBC. Probably best not to tell your cats, though, lest they expect the same monetary powers.
Talk about travelling in style. This bicycle set-up has space for three felines – one is cruising in the basket while two others ride on scooters tied to the back wheel of their young master’s bike.
Captured in all their glory in 1976, we’re sure these cool cats turned a few heads as they cruised around Central Park, New York.