Famous cat lovers

Many famous people including inventors, scientists, artists, musicians, writers, political and military leaders, and humanitarians have been cat lovers. The following are just a few of them.

• Ernest Hemingway, author, owned 30 Cats. His most unusual cat was a six-toed cat given to him by a ship's captain.
• Sir Winston Churchill: Prime Minister of England [1874 - 1965], owned an orange tabby cat named Jock. He commissioned a painting of Jock, who slept in his bed every night and was even taken to all the wartime cabinet meetings.
• Nostradamus: Seer and Prophet [1503 - 1566]. The French Astrologer had a cat named Grimalkin.
• Abraham Lincoln: American President [1809], came into presidential office accompanied by Tabby, his son's cat. Tabby was the first of several White House cats.
• Sir Isaac Newton (1643-1727) Scientist and philosopher, invented the cat-flap, likely so he wouldn't be disturbed by his cats' comings and goings!
• Charles Dickens (1812-1870) Author. His cat, Willamena, produced a litter of kittens in his study. Dickens was determined not to keep the kittens, but he fell in love with one female kitten who was known as "Master's Cat". She kept him company in his study as he wrote, and when she wanted his attention she was known to snuff out his reading candle.
• Albert Einstein (1879-1955) Physicist. Fond of animals, Einstein kept a tomcat named Tiger who tended to get depressed whenever it rained. One acquaintance recalled him saying to the melancholy cat: "I know what's wrong, dear fellow, but I don't know how to turn it off." Einstein was also quoted as saying, "A man has to work so hard so that something of his personality stays alive. A tomcat has it so easy, he has only to spray and his presence is there for years on rainy days."

... to be continued