From Lagerfeld to Brodsky: 11 famous people who were crazy about cats

1. Winston Churchill

Many associate Winston Churchill with bulldogs, and the dog of this breed, Dodo, was indeed one of the Prime Minister's favorites. But the cats in the heart of the famous Briton were also given a special corner. Shortly before Churchill's death, a close friend and personal secretary of the politician gave him a ginger kitten. The kid was nicknamed Jock and a place of honor in the UK cat history.

In his will, Churchill gave his residence to the British Society for the Preservation of Monuments and indicatedCat kept at Winston Churchill’s country estate in honor of wartime PM’s dying request is barred from large parts of home because of his CLAWS / Daily Mail Onlinethat a ginger cat, Jock's successor, should always live on the estate. Jock VII has been living at Chartwell Manor since 2020.

2. Freddie Mercury

Delilah, you're the apple of my eye
Meeow, meeow, meeow
Delilah - I love you

These lines of loveQueen Freddie Mercury dedicated to his cat Delilah. Even few people can boast that their names are mentioned in the songs of legendary musicians, but Delilah was honored with such an honor.

This black and white cat was not the only one for Freddie. In the 1970s, the musician got two cats - Tom and Jerry, followed by others: Tiffany, Dorothy, Goliath, Lily, Miko, Oscar, Romeo.

Three of them also noted in the work Queen vocalist: "To my cat Jerry, as well as Tom, Oscar and Tiffany and all cat lovers in the universe - to hell with everyone else!" - So signedBohemian Rhapsody: Freddie Mercury and His Cats, a Love Story / Vanity Fair Mercury's solo album Mr. bad guy.

Cat lovers who don't write songs still have a lot to learn from Freddie. For example, on Christmas the musician hung upFreddie Mercury's cats / UK Express personalized socks for gifts for your cats. And while touring, according to Peter Freestone, the legend's personal assistant, the singer calledLet's talk about Freddie Mercury's cats, the highlight of 'Bohemian Rhapsody' / The Washington Post to his pets so that they can hear his voice. Such rituals of love for animals are available to everyone.

3. Joseph Brodsky

There were many cats around Brodsky: the pet Oska, named after Joseph himself, the Leningraders Koshka in white boots and Samson, the proud American Big Red. The poet even dedicated poems to mustachioed charmers. For example, in "Elephant and Maruska» The cat became the hero-protector of the giant with the trunk.

The poet more than once compared himself with a cat and in childhood was not against meowing along with his father: Iosif Aleksandrovich recalled this in the famous essay “One and a half rooms». Mom in the Brodsky house eventually turned into Kisa, and the poet also talks about his “childish tendency to draw out certain words in a feline manner,... 'Meat' was one of those words, and by the time I was fifteen, my family was full of meows." Brodsky, the eldest son-cat, in his craving for purring, supported: “We began to call and treat each other like“ big cat ”and“ little cat ”. "Meow", "mur-meow" or "mur-mur-meow" covered a significant part of our emotional spectrum: approval, doubt, indifference, resignation, trust.

4. Karl Lagerfeld

The famous designer and photographer proved his love for cats not with words, but with deeds. He gave his Burmese Choupette a private jet, hired two maids and a personal chefIs Karl Lagerfeld's cat Choupette the most pampered animal in fashion? / The Guardian. Choupette also flaunted on the cover of German Vogue, became the muse of several Lagerfeld collections and the brand face of Japanese cosmetics Shu UemuraWhatever happened to Choupette, Karl Lagerfeld’s pampered cat? / The Irish Times. And, of course, the star favorite has memoirsChoupette gets her own lifestyle book / Daily Mail Online Choupette: The Private Life of a Fashionable High-Flying Cat.

5. Ernest Hemingway

The writer had so many cats that they wrote a whole book about them - “Hemingway's Cats: An Illustrated BiographyHemingway's Cats: An Illustrated Biography / Google Books». In it, the author mentions that a foreign classic called cats purr factories - roughly translated, this can be translated as “purr factories”.

The memoirs of the niece are also given there. Hemingway that the uncle's favorites lived in heavenly conditions. Fluffy pets often dined with the owner right on the table, slept on their arms, legs, even on the books of the famous novelist. And, it seems, they felt like full-fledged owners of the writer's mansion in Finki Vihye.

And even before moving to the Cuban residence of Hemingway becameHemingway's cats are a "mistake of nature" and a national treasure / RIA Novosti happy "father" of a six-toed kitten with a congenital anomaly, whose descendants have taken rootOur Cats / The Hemingway Home and Museum at the writer's mansion in Key West, Florida.

6. Mark Twain

If Mark Twain could manage for some time without the society of bipeds, then the prose writer needed animals everywhere. On trips and business trips, the author of "The Adventures of Tom Sawyer" took pets for rent12 Vintage Photos From The 1900s Prove That Mark Twain Was The 'Crazy Cat Lady' Type Of Man - it was so impossible to live and create without meowing in the background.

Beelzebub, Apollinaris, Satan, Sin, Palestine, Sour Congestion and Soapy Salt - Mark Twain invested a large part of his imagination in the nicknames of his pets. And the writer invested even more tenderness and warmth in his attitude towards them.

For the American classic, a house was not a home if there was not at least one cat in it. A complete set of absolute happiness Twain is guessed in the following quote: “What do I need from life, except for the wife I adore? A cat, an old cat with kittens.

7. Charles Bukowski

American-style brawler and brawler, founder of "dirty realism", author of works that it is unbearably painful and sharp for many to read, but nevertheless he wrote and spoke about cats tenderly, romantically, with love. He even uttered a whole collection, which is called “About cats”.

And of course no one will tell"About cats", Ch. Bukowski about Bukowski's feelings for cats in the same way as the writer himself. “It's good to have a whole bunch of cats around. If you feel bad - look at the cats, then you will feel better, because they know everything, they know it for what it really is. Nothing surprises them. They just know. They are saviors. The more cats you have, the longer you will live. If you have a hundred cats, you will live ten times longer than if you only had ten. One day this will be discovered, and people will start to have a thousand cats and live forever.

8. Vivien Leigh

In the ranks of cat people there are not only poets and writers: actress Vivien Leigh was also crazy about cats. One of the most beautiful women of her time caught the loving glances of millions of people, but Vivien's heart was always open to cats.

In her interviews, the actress rememberedVivien Leigh and Her Beloved Cats / Sotheby'sthat since childhood loved these animals. She took them to bed in a strict convent school, made friends with a kitten from the backyard, adopted a baby from a litter of a cat that lived near the hotel where Vivien often stayed. The lucky girl received the name Tissy and was captured with the hostess on the famous watercolor portraitVivien Leigh Reading With Tissy, Roger Furse / Sotheby's.

The main pet of the actress was New Boy - Siamesewho instilled in Vivien a love for her breed. She broke up with a cat only once - during a tour in Australia. The cat, apparently, could not stand the separation from the owner and died under the wheels of the car in her absence. Li was very upset by the loss and after that she started several more SiameseVivien Leigh's favorite Siamese / Vivandlarry.com. With one of them - Pu Jones - she was no longer separated either on tour, on city trips, or on water cruises: often faithful Pu Jones slept peacefully on the shoulders of the hostess.

9. John Lennon

Seals have repeatedly appeared in photographs next to the famous Beatle, and the musician often drew funny cats in his notes. It seems that Lennon managed to visit the owner of at least 16 animals in his life. ConfirmedP. McCartney. Many years from now / Barry Miles a friend's love for mustachioed pets and Paul McCartney: among other favorites, Paul singled out the Siamese in his memoirs. It's funny that Lennon's first pet calledDocumenting John Lennon's Love for Cats / Rolling Stone Elvis is in honor of Presley. True, over time it turned out that Elvis is not a cat, but a cat. The evidence was there - they found in the kitchen cabinet kittens.

10. Abraham Lincoln

"If the golden fork was good enough for former President James Buchanan, I think it's good enough for Tubby." According to legend, this phrase Lincoln saidAbraham Lincoln's Cats / President Pet Museumwhen he decided to treat his pet with a golden fork to food from the table during a dinner at the White House in the presence of important guests. And the animal was awarded such honors for a reason: Tabby was a significant person in the White House. Lincoln's wife was credited with the opinion that cats were her husband's only hobby.

11. Catherine II

In fact, only the love of the Empress for her dog Zemira is reliably known, and many sources even claim that this strong woman did not really like cats. At the same time, no one denies that it was under Catherine the Great that the corridors of the Hermitage were filled with purringPetersburg "kotovasia", or Who lives under the Hermitage / RIA Novosti.

The ruler was just as demanding on cats as she was on people, and under her rule, cats were divided into yard and indoor cats. Russian Blues were probably especially honored - excellent rat-catchers who saved the imperial chambers from pests. So, no matter how the Empress treated these animals, Catherine lived constantly surrounded by cats.