Kindhearted Cat Lover
"How can you not like cats?"—Michael Clarke Duncan
The more benevolent version of Crazy Cat Lady and Right-Hand-Cat.
It has commonly been said that dog is man's best friend, but there are many people out there who prefer company of a more feline variety. Unlike the above mentioned evil and crazy versions of the cat loving tropes, these characters have an honest affection for cats and are usually decent individuals themselves.
The range of love for cats these character runs a wide spectrum. Some people simply have a cat as their best friend or just adore them for their inherent cute factor. Other characters have a strong affinity toward them and will even go as far as to adopt some of their mannerisms or have felines flock to their location.
Characters who follow this trope aren't necessarily good guys, but the kind gestures they make is a way of showing that they aren't all bad - in other words, a scene where they're petting a cat is an example of Pet the Dog. This one crops up in Anime a lot due to the way cats are perceived in Japan, as opposed to much of the Western world.
Compare Cuteness Proximity, and Heroes Love Dogs for its canine equivalent. See also Crazy Cat Lady, Cats Are Mean, Mega Neko.
Anime & Manga
- Miu and Kisara from Kenichi the Mightiest Disciple instantly become overjoyed when in a cat's presence. Kisara has taken this fondness to new extremes when she created the Nya Kwan Do which is a style based off of a cat's movement.
- Yuzu Kurosaki from Bleach has a whole episode devoted to finding a cat (which turns out to be the spirit of a dead cat) and taking care of it, thus when she's in trouble with hollows, it protects her and in so doing can finally pass on.
- Soi Fon is a Tsundere of a more severe variety, with the dere-dere side only being exposed to a certain cat/person in particular, which is expressed, among other things, by her making her squad's barracks cat-friendly.
- Azumanga Daioh: Sakaki is very kindhearted and loves all animals, especially cats. Unfortunately, cats don't love her.
- For most of the series she is bitten by a gray cat with enormous teeth every time she tries to pet it. However, near the end of the series she befriends a mountain cat named Maya. This cat later protects her from an attack by the bitey Kamineko and Co.
- At one point, she lets the biting cat chomp down on her hand... and pets it with her other hand.
- For most of the series she is bitten by a gray cat with enormous teeth every time she tries to pet it. However, near the end of the series she befriends a mountain cat named Maya. This cat later protects her from an attack by the bitey Kamineko and Co.
- Ryoma Echizen from The Prince of Tennis shows quite a bit of love toward his cat Karupin.
- Also Kaoru Kaidoh, who loves playing with said kitty.
- Kanone Hilbert of Spiral adores cats, though he doesn't own any himself, he's been seen feeding strays and buying plush cats to keep himself company. What's more, at one point during his attack on Tsukiomi highschool, Hiyono Yuizaki planned to momentarily "stun" him and thus keep from getting shot simply by wearing a pair of kitty ears. The craziest part? It worked.
- Sora in Sketchbook ~full color'S doesn't have a cat (though a few of her friends do), but is your typical Friend to All Living Things...but the kid keeps giving them expired food, which her brother calls her out on. So this might be subverted in the cats' eyes, until she realizes her error.
- Hikari Yagami/Kari Kamiya from Digimon Adventure, who has both a real-life pet cat and a cat Digimon.
- Suzuka of Magical Girl Lyrical Nanoha. Her entire mansion is filled with adopted kittens.
- Kuwabara from Yu Yu Hakusho, who completely gave in to other bullies holding his kitten hostage.
- Bunji Kugashira of the Gungrave anime adopts a ragged-eared cat sometime after his introduction in the series. This, along with his close relationship to the show's protagonist, help distract us from the fact that he's kind of a cold-blooded mob enforcer.
- Alphonse from Fullmetal Alchemist. Since he's an empty shell of armor with the soul of a boy embedded into it, he often takes kitties and places them inside. Hilarity Ensues more than once.
- "Al! Think of the kitten!"
- It's implied Scar is one of these too, at least in the omakes.
- Confirmed in the anime, too. The episode when they first meet May and Shao May, Scar reaches towards Shao May in the most awkward fashion, making many of the viewers believe.... well... you know.
- The elder Slicer brother is a cat-lover as shown in an omake as well, placing a kitten in his helmet to shield it from the rain. In contrast, his younger brother is a dog-lover.
- Chachamaru of Mahou Sensei Negima is quite fond of cats, the reader's first hint that, despite her mistress, she isn't all that evil (and neither is said mistress, no matter what she says). Referenced later on when she gets a Kill Sat shaped like a kitty.
- Mitsukake in Fushigi Yuugi, who has a cute kitten named Tama.
- Greece, and to a degree Japan in Axis Powers Hetalia.
- Himaruya himself appears to be this as well.
- Gentle Giant Corporal Randel Oland in Pumpkin Scissors, who apparently spends most of his pay on cat food.
- Sebastian Michaelis from Black Butler. Apparently even remorseless, supercompetent demons who will kill without a second thought love cats. Especially silky black strays. He also once cuddled a tiger! Although the "kindhearted" part may not apply...
- Haruka from RahXephon think Buchi is the cutest widdle kitty evah!
- Averted by Kunugi who really doesn't like Buchi.
- The various MISAKAs apparently have a strong attachment to cats in A Certain Magical Index. Or it may just be number 10032 that does. In any case, it's the humanizing touch given to ten thousand clones who do not otherwise have much in the way of identity or character traits at that point. The original Misaka Mikoto, while finding cats adorable and cuddly like most normal girls her age, is hesitant to approach them as the ambient electricity generated by her mere presence causes discomfort in the poor little animals.
- Code Geass: Suzaku Kururugi is said to love cats, but the fact that Animals Hate Him has become somewhat of a running gag on the show. So much that he's gained the Fan Nickname of "Suzakaki". And yet in one of the last scenes of the series, Arthur, the cat he'd been taking care of, is seen standing in front of his (empty) grave.
- Miriana of Fairy Tail is of the villainous (at first) variety, and has turned loving cats into an obsession. At one point, she refuses to even hurt Natsu, her enemy, who was currently poorly-disguised as a cat, and she was even well aware of it.
- Wendy, Natsu and Gajeel as well.
- Special mention got to the latter considering how he reacted with he realized he didn't have one.
- Wendy, Natsu and Gajeel as well.
- Hinagiku of Hayate the Combat Butler is an avid cat lover. Shiranui plays a prominent role in her drama scenes with Hayate. The fact that her foster mother is allergic to cats keeps her from having cats of her own. She's also compared to felines for her fear of heights.
- Nagi and Isumi could be said to have this trait as well, Nagi is Tama and Shiranui's owner, and Isumi spends a chapter trying to befriend Shiranui when he first joins the cast.
- Bruno in Yu-Gi-Oh 5 Ds, who lost his memory trying to save one.
- Doctor Ritsuko Akagi from Neon Genesis Evangelion is a cat person. She even has cat-themed office decorations. She mostly likes them because of loneliness issues though.
- In one of the My-HiME omake shorts, it's shown that Mikoto Minagi has a pair of cats - one white and one black - to keep her company when Mai isn't around. Mikoto herself acts cat-like a lot.
- Vamp in Tentai Senshi Sunred is nice to cats, and is shocked by the implication that a wild monster living in his attic had eaten the neighbour's kitty (the cat was fine; the monster had simply removed its collar because it considered collaring cats animal cruelty). Not bad for a self-proclaimed Sentai villain with plans for World Domination.
- In one of the Puella Magi Madoka Magica drama CDs, it is revealed in an alternate timeline Madoka used her wish to rescue a cat from getting run over. Presumably the same cat is the one being hugged by Madoka in the opening credits of the anime. This is one of the first demonstrations of her kindness to Homura, and eventually she bonds with her to the point of going through the same month repeatedly to save Madoka's life.
- Kai from Beyblade...sort of.
- Enma from Katekyo Hitman Reborn. Shown when he goes to feed a couple stray cats.
Comics
- Pictured above: While Selina Kyle/Catwoman of Batman fame is no straight heroine, she does keep a number of cats that she cares for deeply. Official count is 17.
- She is frequently portrayed as donating money from her criminal endeavors to animal care charities.
- DC villain/AntiHero Catman lived with a pride of lions during his stay in Africa and grew to love them as his own family. It's safe to assume he likes house cats, too.
- Actually, Catman likes dogs. Little dogs. Arsenal commented that it made him even harder to take seriously.
- A minor recurring character in the Justice Society of America comics, detective "Speed" Saunders (Hawkgirl's grandfather), kept a scruffy tomcat during World War II.
- The Sandman's Dream of the Endless seems to have an affinity for cats, it's one of the many reasons Bast adores him.
- Betty Cooper from Archie Comics keeps a pet cat and is probably the most kindhearted person in the series.
Films -- Animation
- Madame from The Aristocats.
- Another rich Disney character, Charlotte Le Beouf from The Princess and the Frog, seems to very much love her kitten in the opening.
Films -- Live-Action
- In the Hellboy movies, Hellboy reveals his soft side with his affinity for cats, in contrast to his usual gruffness. In the second movie, he even goes so far as to disobey orders to stay hidden from a troll, because he wanted to prevent said troll from eating a cat (and he did just that).
- It's implied that he's something of a Crazy Cat Demon-Man.
- Hell, the TROPE PICTURE for Anti-Anti-Christ shows how fond he is of the adorable little hairballs!!!
- It's implied that he's something of a Crazy Cat Demon-Man.
- In North Sea Hijack, also released as ffolkes (yes, with 2 f's and no capital, not a typo) Roger Moore is deliberately casted against type. Rather than the womanizing playboy characters he was known for as James Bond and The Saint, the character Rufus Excalibur ffolkes was a bearded eccentric arrogant misogynist cat-lover. At the end of the film, having expressed his disdain for medals, he's instead presented with a trio of kittens in recognition of his heroism. He's rather touched.
- Darkman usually keeps a cat or two around.
- Blondie from The Good the Bad And The Ugly takes time out to stroke a cat while clearing a town of Mooks with Tuco.
Literature
- Death from Discworld likes cats more than anything else and truly hates people who kill them. Nanny Ogg is a cat person as well.
- Granny Weatherwax, however, is not. Or she'd want you to believe, until she is offered the kitten You in Wintersmith, to which she shows no affection at all (in front of witnesses).
- Harry Potter has two kindly cat lovers: Arabella Figg and Hermione Granger. Interesting in that they are both good people, but at the opposite ends of the sliding scale of magical power.
- Also, Hermione's cat becomes a Chekhov's Kitten later. He is inexplicably hostile to Ron's pet rat Scabbers. The rat turns out to be Peter Pettigrew, a Death-Eater and spy for Voldemort.
- Subverted with Dolores Umbridge, who likes kittens and is a total, horrid bitch.
- Possibly averted here - all we see are pictures of kittens, not actual kittens.
- Also Filch, though he comes off as more sympathetic than Umbridge. (Of course, so does Voldemort...) His only friend seems to be his evil cat, Mrs. Norris, and he seems truly horrified in the second book when she's attacked by Slytherin's monster.
- Faithful, Alanna's cat in The Lioness Quartet. Faithful was sent by the gods themselves to protect and watch over Alanna. He can talk and possesses almost-omniscient powers, so he finds it pretty easy to protect his "owner."
- Robert A. Heinlein and most of his books' characters.
- In his short story Ordeal In Space, the protagonist likes cats. Also, when he hears a kitten out on a ledge, he rescues it and cures his agoraphobia.
- The title of one of his books is even, The Cat Who Walks Through Walls.
- In The Door Into Summer, when the protagonist goes into suspended animation for 30 years, he arranges for his cat, Pete, to come with him. Unfortunately, Pete doesn't, and arguably, one of the reasons he travels back in time is to get his cat back.
- The Puppet Masters's most heart wrenching scene comes when Pirate the cat is taken over by a slug. He doesn't survive the ordeal and dies in Sam's arms. When Sam and Old Man make their final charge, Sam narrates that he owes them revenge for Pirate.
- Morwen, the not-so-wicked witch in the Enchanted Forest Chronicles, has cats in every color except black.
- Several characters in the Chrestomanci Chronicles.
- Petaybee: Clodagh certainly, and Aisling less obviously.
- Inversion in The Chronicles of Narnia as the whole series is about a cat who is a kindhearted Narnian and occasional Englishchild lover.
- In The Horse and His Boy, Aslan comes in the form of a cat to comfort Shasta.
- Cats are entirely friendly in Mercedes Lackey's fantasy novels, although pampered housepets can be more nosy and gossipy than helpful. This is in all likelihood Author Appeal.
- Cats, and catlike aliens, are also found throughout Andre Norton's books. This is most definitely Author Appeal, as she was well-known for being a cat lover.
- Six-year-old Queen Varicose in the second Welkin Weasels trilogy is constantly surrounded by cats. They come from miles around to see her, because the old saying that "a cat can look at a queen" is taken rather more seriously by the Talking Animal population of Welkin.
- Captain Tinker, from Esther Averill's charming Jenny and the Cat Club series of children's books.
- Honor Harrington and Nimitz though Treecats aren't the same thing. One suspects that Nimitz was an avatar of David Weber's cat.
- Dean from the Garrett P.I. series is fond of cats, even hiding a kitten in the house against Garrett's direct orders in Red Iron Nights.
- Several of Haruki Murakami's heroes have a fondness for cats (a bit of Author Appeal) and are generally decent people. Toru from The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle and Nakata, the secondary protagonist of Kafka on the Shore, are probably the best examples (the latter can actually talk to cats and makes money by reuniting lost pets with their owners).
- Shadow, the protagonist of American Gods, is this, whether the cat in question is just a regular kitten or Bast.
- Bertie Wooster is quite fond of cats; in one story he mentions that cats "always do take to me". Makes sense, since he's the Nice Guy of his series.
- Prim in The Hunger Games. Her feline friend Buttercup is a Jerk with a Heart of Gold in cat form: he's mean to everyone, but not Prim.
- Grace Cahill of The 39 Clues: Cool Old Lady, awesome grandmother, matriarch of the Madrigals, and owner of Saladin, the epitome of a Cool Cat. She appears to be very fond of him. Due to Death by Origin Story, this ends up applying to Dan and Amy Cahill as well, with Saladin becoming the (often quite helpful) fourth member of their Clue-hunting team. Nellie Gomez likes Saladin quite a bit, too, as evidenced by her insistence upon getting his favorite red snapper for him every time the team moves on to a different city.
- In the sequel series Cahills vs. Vespers, Evan Tolliver shows signs of this as he becomes the high-maintenance Saladin's main caregiver in Amy and Dan's absence.
Live-Action TV
- Doctor Who has the Doctor himself, at least the Sixth, Ninth, Tenth and Eleventh incarnations. Six, even as he donned that hideous coat, decided to make it marginally less ghastly with some cat shaped lapel pins. Nine actually pets a cat during an episode, and Ten has a good rapport with some cat people in one of his episodes. Eleven talks to a housecat to investigate a time loop in Colchester.
- Emma Tutweiler of The Suite Life On Deck, who cares for a vast number of cats alone on a cruise ship.
- Flanderization in recent episodes have turned her into a Crazy Cat Lady, getting a new cat every time she's dumped.
- Quite a few characters, including Tristan, from All Creatures Great and Small.
- Bubbles, in Trailer Park Boys has a love for kitties, and even opened his own "cat daycare centre".
- Randy from My Name Is Earl dated a kindhearted (and quite pretty) cat lady, but they split up after he realised that she was treating him exactly like a cat (with his own little "Randy" collar and a giant cat bed).
- The host of Must Love Cats loves cats so much that he even write songs and sings to them.
- Jackson Galaxy of My Cat From Hell is dedicated towards helping cats and owners get along. Since he's a musician, he looks more like a biker than a cat lover.
- In one episode of (I think) Animal Rescue, a man had over 20 cats, even though he was only allowed two. It turned out that he couldn't afford to have them neutered or spayed, and things took their natural course. The rescue officers had nothing but praise for how well the man had performed the monumental task of caring for all of them (the apartment was fairly clean, the cats all socially well-adjusted and healthy), and so they allowed him to keep two of his beloved cats—after spaying them for free.
Radio
- Never exactly "kind", but Ed of Ed Reardon's Week reserves his minuscule portion of the caring instinct for his cat, which allows the audience glimpses of a fairly decent acceptable human being beneath all the snark. And gleeful misanthropy. And general jerkassery.
Video Games
- Ethan Karios from Time Hollow keeps a cat named Sox who helps him on his adventure through time.
- Cammy White of Street Fighter is a highly-trained Delta Red Agent and former assassin, but melts at the sight of a cat as she adores them.
- Felicia of Darkstalkers is this for obvious reasons as she is a Catgirl herself.
- Travis Touchdown in No More Heroes. "Kindhearted" is... well, enough of a stretch you could use it for a tightrope, but he's devoted to his cat.
- For much of the second game, it seems like his cat is his only friend.
- The owner of the Shin-Sekai soda joint in Raidou Kuzunoha vs. the Soulless Army takes in cats that are in front of his store. You have to spend enough money there to find out, though.
- Vayne from Mana Khemia: Alchemists of Al-Revis never goes anywhere without his cat Sulpher, who even starts circling his legs in an adorable idle animation if you leave him alone. To be fair, though, his bond with Sulpher is a bit more complicated than most. He also can have a more-than-just-friends relationship with catgirl student, Nikki, and will even marry her in her ending, resulting in a LOT of kids. Roxis, meanwhile, can be found having adopted a kitten and baby-talking to it in a scene you can see while walking around the school grounds, but he'd never actually admit it to your face.
- Tokimeki Memorial 2 has two of them, Miyuki Kotobuki and Kaori Yae. Of special note, Kaori doesn't like dogs on the other hand.
- Megumi Mikihara of Tokimeki Memorial 1 is rather a Friend to All Living Things, but in one of her Events, she finds abandoned kitten in a cardboard box under a snowy night, and decides to take them in and take care of them until she finds kind new owners for them. It's also the basis of her scenario in Tokimeki Memorial Taisen Tokkae Tama (one of the two Puzzle Game spin-offs of the game).
- Spiritual Successor Mitsumete Knight has Laury Callwell, Gene Petromolla (who's a Friend to All Living Things in general) and, to the surprise of the players, Sam Burston. They're all linked by an interesting event : Laury first finds three abandoned kitten she decides to adopt, and names them. Later, if you have Gene in your girl roster and have good relationship with both Laury and Gene, Laury will lose the kitten and you can offer to search for them for her. You'll have two possible leads : Go ask Gene, or go ask the local punks. Choosing the first option will net you a special CG, where Gene has found the kitten, and, after explaining the situation, will agree to give them back, albeit with a sad face ; choosing the second one will allow you to see an unknown kind side of Sam (who's normally in antagonistic ways with the main protagonist), and he too will give the kitten back.
- In The Legend of Zelda Twilight Princess, we have both Telma and her cat Louise and Impaz with her dozens of playful, friendly kitties. Link himself can pick up and carry less shy cats around, and even plays a minigame with some of Impaz's.
- Telma and Louise? Intentional?
- Anders of Dragon Age has a fondness for kittens. The player can even give one to him as a pet, who he names Ser Pounce-A-Lot and carries into battle (where it can actually revive the entire party should a Party Wipe happen). Unfortunately he was forced to give up his kitten between Awakening and the sequel, though he still has a big soft spot for them.
- Eventually subverted; Anders starts out kindhearted, but becomes more and more ruthless as the sequel progresses...
- Cormag from Fire Emblem: The Sacred Stones, according to his supports with Natasha. He once found an injured kitty who barely survived the battle he and his group had been in, took him as his pet, and asked the aforementioned White Magician Girl to heal his injuries.
- Subverted by Matt Engarde from Ace Attorney, who's a cat lover, but also a Bitch in Sheep's Clothing
- Yomiel in Ghost Trick. His cat is literally the only friend he has. Of course, the "kind-hearted" bit applies only to his cat. Luckily, the cat is considerably nicer.
- Ragna the Bloodedge wields the mighty Azure Grimoire, is known far and wide as the Grim Reaper, has the world's largest bounty on his head, and is considered an SS-class criminal by the NOL...but he just loves cats, and cats seem to love him too if his interaction with Taokaka and the Kaka kitties are any indication.
- And even moreso Litchi Faye-Ling. Despite obsessing over saving Arakune, she still finds time to protect the Kaka clan from his threat and even teaches the not-so-blessed-in-intelligence cats, and the kitties, Taokaka included, love her very much. In what would be a slight Tear Jerker and a redeeming point in her Face Heel Turn, one of the things she remembered before making the heavy decision was the fun times with Taokaka.
- The protagonist of Persona 4 seems to have shades of this. If you complete one quest to feed a stray cat, the protagonist will request himself to continuing feeding it. Also, you have the option to spend the entire afternoon just petting a cat.
Web Comics
- Blackout of the Insecticomics loves to collect scorpion-bots (in toy form, that's continued incarnations of movie Scorponok). Since the scorpions purr when scritched, cluster around ankles, and are generally adorable, they might as well be cats with a fondness for toe-pinching.
Arcee: How many scorpions do you need?
Blackout: All of them!
- Liege Fabulo is also "an insect person".
- Sister Claire's eponymous character.
- Even the KillTron 5000, mentioned in this VG Cats comic, who hates all known beings in the universe, has a special place in his robot heart for cats.
- Yuudai from Sakana, perhaps surprisingly. He owns a cat named Hime, which is pretty much his Only Friend.
- Judy the gorilla from The Adventures of Dr. McNinja. A recent chapter was called "Judy Gets a Kitten" and involved... Judy getting a kitten. Yoshi the dinosaur tried to eat the kitten, but it survived. It's sporting an eyepatch..
- Yun-lee and Dong-whi from Nineteen Twenty One. Their love for cats is what got them together.
- The jailer and the doctor from Papi Nyang.
- In Wapsi Square, Amanda taking in a stray cat showed that she was starting to become slightly less cynical.
- Belkar Bitterleaf of The Order of the Stick is far from kindhearted under usual circumstances, being Chaotic Evil, Ax Crazy, and an all around Sociopathic Hero with little of the "Heroic" part. However, he genuinely likes Mr. Scruffy, the late Lord Shojo's Right-Hand-Cat, and caring for him has led to numerous Pet the Dog moments as part of his real/fake Character Development.
Web Original
- Brad Jones of The Cinema Snob fame loves his cats. Even if he's ranting, he pauses to pet them and speaks to them in a very gentle tone of voice. They provide cute comic relief and Funny Background Event moments throughout the series.
- Also, Justin Carmical, aka Jew Wario, can't have a cat because of allergies, but will gleefully point them out when they appear in a game he's reviewing.
- The Let's Player Raocow is a MASSIVE cat lover, to the point where he refused to kill the cat enemies in his Let's Play of Clarence's Big Chance.
- Another LPer with this trait is HC Bailly. He took the time to win the maximum amount of cats you could own in Chrono Trigger.
- James Rolfe, AKA The Angry Video Game Nerd, has two cats, Yeti and Boo, who he takes time to show off in his vlog where he temporarily moves to California.
Western Animation
- This is a popular depiction of Nathan Explosion in Metalocalypse fanworks. [dead link]
- The South Park episode "Major Boobage" was somewhat bizarre for turning Cartman into this, serving as the one time in about ten years that one of his many, many Pet the Dog moments didn't turn out to be fake or Manipulative Bastard.
- Well, he did have Kitty early in the show's run and refused to let Stan and Kyle put firecrackers up his butt.
- Mrs. Hasigawa from Lilo and Stitch The Series combines this with a touch of Crazy Cat Lady. Or at least, from her perspective—her "cats" are actually superpowered alien genetic experiments, but she's too blind and/or senile to notice.
- Dan from Dan Vs. has Mr. Mumbles.
- SpongeBob SquarePants owns Gary, who is a snail, which appears to be the underwater equivalent of a cat in the show.
- This is how Ryan Adams is portrayed in Hey Joel. He wrote an entire album for his dead cat, Wiskers, and even thinks the song "Mandy" was about a dog.
Real Life
- One of the US Rangers involved in the Battle of Mogadishu (of Black Hawk Down fame) was a noted cat fan. In fact, when the US task force moved into their barracks (an abandoned hangar), there was a group of kittens with no mother. The Ranger took care of them, and others got pissed at their mewing. He simply said, "If you want to kill them, you have to get through me."
- Winston Churchill, notable for being a rare example of a Big Good with a Right-Hand-Cat.
- Muhammad was a noted cat lover, although he was very much against keeping dogs and (reportedly) branded them "unclean". This still persists in Islam today; there are hundreds of stray cats around the Alhambra and other ancient mosques in Spain that let you pet them and give them treats.
- One of the Shahabat (Companions, people who first practiced Islam and lived in proximity with Muhammad) was named Abu Huraihah (Father of Kittens) because he kept many cats in his household. He was also a notable source for the Hadith: According to one story, he once stepped out of his home, and all his cats gathered around him.
- The artist Louis Wain is mostly known for his huge assortment of cat paintings. He also wrote books (mostly about cats), and championed animal rights. He was a swell guy, despite being violently psychotic at times.
- It's widely thought that Wain suffered from schizophrenia caused by toxoplasmosis, a parasite which lives in cat poo. (Ever wonder why pregnant women are told to not clean litter boxes? Exposure to toxoplasmosis in the womb is linked to the baby developing schizophrenia as an adult.)
- These paintings display what goes on in the mind of a mad man. These are what he believed his cats looked like. It is believed that the bizarre intricate design is related to his mother, who made fanciful textiles with complex patterns like the ones in these paintings. It's possible he connected his childhood memories of the textiles with his cats and- due to his schizophrenia- they started to become one and the same.
- It's widely thought that Wain suffered from schizophrenia caused by toxoplasmosis, a parasite which lives in cat poo. (Ever wonder why pregnant women are told to not clean litter boxes? Exposure to toxoplasmosis in the womb is linked to the baby developing schizophrenia as an adult.)
- Anonymous. Say what you will about how they treat humans, but they adore cats. Just ask Kenny Glenn [dead link] .
- Yaoi manga creator Miyamoto Kanno often portrays herself surrounded by cats (and hides behind them when otherwise she would have to draw her face) in the afterwords of her stories. They also sometimes appear as her characters' companions.
- H.P. Lovecraft, who gave cats magical powers in his stories and wrote one about an entire city of cats taking terrible vengeance on an elderly pair of creeps who kill a kitten. He deeply loved his unfortunately named black cat "Nigger-man".
- Saki gave the eponymous "Tobermory" a tongue to rival his usual Upper Class Wits, and "The Achievement of the Cat" is basically a short essay on cats' inherent awesomeness.
- Freddie Mercury, who even wrote two good-bye songs dedicated to his cats shortly before his death.
- He also wrote "All dead, all dead" for fellow cat lover and band mate Brian May, after the death of one of his kitties.
- Koko the gorilla is a noted fan of cats.
- Robert Goulet loved cats, in fact when he guest starred on Two Guys, a Girl And A Pizza Place they made a joke about this and paired him with Crazy Cat Lady Ireene.
- One of the oldest known Irish poems, Pangur Ban, was written by a monk about his cat.
- Saint Raymond Nonnatus, according to his legend.
- Michael Clarke Duncan, a Gentle Giant actor. Ask him about his cats.
- Atatürk, the founder of modern Turkey, cut his cape off, because he didn't want to wake a cat that slept on it.
- Stanley Kubrick. He reportedly edited all of his movies in his own house because he felt bad for leaving his cats while he shot the movies.
- Warren Ellis, more of a Jerk with a Heart of Gold, is definitely this, if this is anything to go by.
- If we're listing comic book writers, can't forget Grant Morrison. He devoted part of his fourth wall demolishing appearance in the finale of his Animal Man run to talk about how bad he felt when his cat died, how unfair it was, and how it impacted his writing of the series. This even seems to be the reason (In-Universe anyway) that he decided to resurrect Animal Man's slain family, in an attempt to be kind rather than dramatic.
- Ernest Hemingway was given a polydactyl cat as a gift. His will left his house and estate to that cat and its descendants in perpetuity. There are now sixty of them living in his house.
- Adam Howden shares this trait with his Dragon Age II character, Anders. In fact, during a podcast one of his cats came into the room meowing loudly, clearly wanting to join in the conversation.
- It's okay to be a cat guy.
- Noriaki Sugiyama, if his blog is to be believed.
- Tricia Helfer is a cat lover, having ten "rescue" cats. She insisted that Bungie agree to donate to cat-sheltering organizations as part of her contract before she would play Dare in Halo 3 ODST. See for yourself.
- The Real Life prevalence of this trope is presumably why the Depression-era hobo symbol for "kind lady lives here" was a drawing of a cat.
- I love every kind of cat! I just want to hug all of them, but I can’t, 'cause it's crazy, I can't hug every cat!
- Even worse. It's all a ruse.
- Bethany Cosentino of Best Coast would rather talk about her cats instead of her music. So much that she put her cat Snacks on the cover of her album Crazy For You.
- James Franco and his brother Dave each own two cats and apparently bring them up in conversation enough that in an interview, Dave mentioned that every time a friend greets him, the first question they ask is about his cats and he made a Funny or Die video about them.
- Hizaki, currently in Versailles, often tweets about his Persian cat, Sonia. One such tweet has him feeling bad because he has to leave Sonia behind whenever Versailles tour.