My cats, Whiskers and Scrappy, love to spend time in my room with me as I work. They are hilarious, and if not sitting with (or on) me, they soon find much to get into mischievous trouble with. Whiskers LOVES stuffed animals, especially ones that match his tuxedo fuzz coloring, and his mission in life is to swipe my stuffed animals for his very own. I believe he feels bad for them; thinking I don’t take care of them enough. The ones he has successfully stolen, he takes charge of their care, giving them quality lives; lining them up for food and water, circling them about the sliding glass door for fresh air, lining them up outside my door, etc, etc, etc. It all began when he was a wee kitten and observed my dad and I playing auction. We would each gather things that we didn’t want and auction them to each other. Whiskers, who had been eyeing up a little furry stuffed I had just gotten, left the room and came back with a stuffed animal of his own, placed it beside mine and grabbed mine and took off running. It was the most adorable thing, and thinking back on the day made me wonder about cats that have become famous in history.
To begin my exploration, I’ll start with a cat named Tabby. Tabby made history because he was the pet of Abraham Lincoln, and the first cat to ever set paw in the White House. At the White House, he was shortly joined by another feline addition to the Lincoln family, Dixie. Unfortunately, I can’t find many specific facts about Tabby himself. I have, however, found a quite hilarious quote from Abraham Lincoln, in regard to him having fed Tabby at the table during a formal dinner, “if that gold fork was good enough for President Buchanan, it is good enough for Tabby”. Apparently, he was quite the cat person. Despite lack of facts about Tabby’s care and personality, I believe it’s safe to assume he was supremely pampered. Especially because Mrs. Lincoln remarked that cats were a major hobby of his. I don’t believe Tabby was Lincoln’s favorite cat though; I think he loved Dixie best. I believe Dixie to have been his favorite, based on a comment he made about Dixie being more intelligent than his presidential cabinet. Also, probably because Tabby was his son’s cat. I’m very possessive of my special pets and can completely relate to this.
Researching this information I came across an amazing site the “Presidential Pet Museum“. I have always loved stories about the pets of the presidential families. Before Tabby, I had known about George Washington’s horses and the Caroline Kennedy’s pony Macaroni. I’ve always had a special fondness for these pets. I’m absolutely sure the Presidential Pet Museum is about to become one of my favorite websites.
On a new path 