The aristocats
Marion McMullen looks at prestigious pets of the feline persuasion
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WHITE cat Arthur became famous in the 1960s for delicately eating food from a can with his paw as part of an ad campaign for Kattomeat. He appeared in more than 300 adverts and was followed by Arthur II who also wrote his memoirs... with a little help from his owner.
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BRITAIN’S chief mouser Larry, left, is this week celebrating 10 years of prowling the corridors of political power at 10 Downing Street. He came as a stray from Battersea rescue centre and was the first cat to hold the rat-catching portfolio since stalwart ratter Humphrey in 1997. Larry has met a number of world leaders including President Barack Obama and took a cat nap under Donald Trump’s car.
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GERMAN fashion designer Karl Lagerfeld doted on his cat Choupette and even named her in his will. She has her own Twitter and Instagram accounts and appeared with her owner in adverts. The Birman cat was also photographed with supermodels for the book Choupette: The Private Life Of A High-Flying Fashion Cat.
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FRISKY was seen on the roof of Jack Duckworth’s pigeon loft in the Coronation Street title sequence for more than 1,000 episodes. The tabby tom, pictured with Ken Barlow (William Roache), was chosen to star in the ITV soap’s opening credits in 1990. At the height of his fame he had a 1,500strong fan club.
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JAMES BOND writer Ian Fleming never gave his villain Blofeld a pet in his hit spy novels, but 007’s nemesis famously acquired a long-haired white cat for the silver screen, when British actor Donald Pleasence took the role in the 1967 movie You Only Live Twice.
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CATS have long been members of the Blue Peter pet family. Siamese cat Jason, below with presenter Lesley Judd, was the first, back in 1964 and used to sit so still under the hot studio lights that many viewers thought he was stuffed. His purr-fect moment came in 1975 when he starred as the Cheshire Cat in the show’s Christmas production of Alice In Blue Peter Land.
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IMPRESSING internet sensation Grumpy Cat was a hard challenge. She even stayed miserable when she met Jennifer Lopez in 2014 when the singer was a judge on American Idol. Named Tarder Sauce, the feline’s grumpy features won her nearly three million followers on Instagram and she appeared in several ad campaigns.
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THE movie A Street Cat Named Bob was based on a best-selling book about the real-life relationship between busker James Bowen and stray ginger cat Bob, both pictured. Multiple moggies were screen tested for the title role, but in the end Bob played himself for most of the film. Sadly the famous feline died last year aged 14.
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WHITE HOUSE cat Socks caused a stir when he decided to take the podium at a press briefing in 1994. A groundskeeper who regularly walked the cat brought him into the press room and the purr-resident posed for photographers before making his exit.
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WIKILEAKS founder Julian Assange became famous for his cat companion during his time at the Ecuadorian Embassy in London. The friendly feline was a social media favourite as the Embassy Cat and wore a collar and tie for one photo opportunity. Always well groomed, he was said to sleep in a top hat by day, before prowling around at night.