A 21st-century phenomenon is the proliferation of cat photos and videos on the internet. What began as a craze for posting clips of bizarre and amusing cats has, for a few, turned into big business, especially in the United States. Certain videos went viral, and cats with particularly striking features—as well as one with a …
Advertising campaigns have been using cats for more than a century. As early as 1904, a black cat was adopted as the image for a brand of cigarette. Today, two enormous black cat sculptures sit at the entrance of the tobacco company’s former factory in London. Cats of all types label pet foods; and as …
With their lithe bodies and graceful movements, it is perhaps surprising that cats have not been represented more often in either classical or contemporary ballet. Two of the few cats in the ballet repertoire appear in the final act of Tchaikovsky’s The Sleeping Beauty (first performed in 1890) when, among other fairy-tale characters, Puss in …
Cats are as unlikely to be given leading roles on stage than they are in films. But the cats brought spectacularly to life by actors in Andrew Lloyd Webber’s award-winning musical Cats have enchanted theater goers since the show opened in London in 1981. Based on T. S. Eliot’s Old Possum’s Book of Practical Cats, …
While real cat stars are scarce, plenty of cartoon cats have earned a place in movie history. The prototype was Felix the Cat, an odd little character that became famous in silent animated films of the 1920s and remains popular in comic books and on television. Felix was followed by the clownish black-and-white Sylvester featured …
Charming though they are, cats have not achieved superstardom in the entertainment world in the same way as dogs, being far less cooperative than their canine counterparts. Nevertheless, their personalities and foibles have made cats a source of inspiration for cartoon caricatures, and their visual appeal has not been lost on the creators of marketing …
Cats have appeared intermittently in symbolic and sacred art since the time of the ancient Egyptians, but it was not until the 18th century that they were portrayed as domestic pets. For a long period, Western artists struggled, and largely failed, to capture the elusive nature of felines in drawings and paintings. It was Eastern …
For the most part, cats have been sidelined in adult literature, making appearances as major players largely in books for children. Some literary cats are more realistic than others, but even the most fantastic usually have qualities that are instantly recognizable as feline. Often, the creators of fictional cats have used their own pets as …
Clever and helpful, or devious and downright sneaky, the cats in traditional folk tales have a mixed reputation. The way they are represented reflects how people across generations and in various countries have understood, and frequently misunderstood, the character of the average domestic feline. The cat-and-mouse theme is especially prevalent and appears in many cultures …
Cats are enigmatic animals and there is a touch of magic about them. For people in the past, the magic was real, and the traits and behaviors that amuse and puzzle the owners of today’s indulged pets were once seen as unearthly, often malign. Myths and superstitions about cats, with countless variations, have had a …