Since the rise of the internet a common joke has always been that the internet is meant for cat gifs. Be it your cousin’s boyfriend posting incessantly about their cat’s every movement or the trending page on YouTube, it is often hard to get away from cute stories about cats. This apparently has long been the case with different forms of media which I quickly realized during my research for another blog post about sketchy medical advertisements at the turn of the century. (How I managed to get from one topic to the other is anyone’s guess.) So, in honor of continuing the periodic dose of cute series, and jumping on the cat bandwagon, I present to you a random assortment of cat related stories form our archives:
In 1869 the Macomb True Republican tells the story of George, a cat who was known for being a remarkable piano player. He was said to slam keys with his front paws, making surprisingly pleasant music. He was also known as an aspiring music critic, meowing along to music when he enjoyed it. It is not mentioned what he did if the music didn’t meet his standards.
A 1904 article told the story of a Miss Nannie Foster Carroll of Cincinnati who was so enamored with her cats that she moved to a new home to be with them. Her aunt, who she had previously lived with, demanded that Carroll give up her 19 cats. Carol, instead, decided to move out to live alone with the cats.
In 1916 the Urbana Daily Courier told the story of a grey cat who was rescued from a snow storm by a taxi driver who placed the cat in the cab while delivering a fair. Upon checking on the cat later he found that she had four kittens. He took them back to headquarters where men made space for them. One of the kittens grew up and became known for hopping in cabs, refusing to leave until he got to ride with the drivers. When not on rides the cat, Bum, would hide in flower pots and attack anyone who tried to break into the cabs while the owners were away. Attempts at finding Bum a proper home failed, with the cat always returning to the restaurant to watch over the cabs.
In 1917 the Urbana Daily Courier reported that two men in Redondo, California rescued a cat they found floating in a keg. The large black cat was thought to have come from a boat.
In 1928 a cat named Smoke reportedly took up residence in a Burmingham, Alabama fire truck. Smoke received her own place on the list of fire fighters and was given a bed for her and her three kittens to sleep on. Reportedly, this bed was quickly abandoned in favor of a return to the fire truck.
This is the section of the post where I should dive into why people love stories about cats or try to analyze why stories from across the country ended up in these papers. Something very academic to honor this blog. Honestly, though, I don’t think that there is any harm in sitting back and enjoying the stories as they are.
Also, I have been collecting these for awhile and just really wanted to share them.