March 7, 2024

7 Cats with the Luck o’ the Irish

You don’t have to be Irish to celebrate St. Patrick’s Day and make your own luck. Just take a look at these kitties! 

Image above courtesy Band of Cats.

1. Hodge

Courtesy BBC

Dr. Samuel Johnson, author of the groundbreaking A Dictionary of the English Language in 1755 had a special feline muse named Hodge, who was described as “a very fine cat indeed” and honored in An Elegy on The Death of Dr Johnson’s Favourite Cat by Percival Stockdale. Dr. Johnson would often give Hodge oysters as a treat, so the statue in his honor features a PURR-Y satisfied looking Hodge sitting on a volume of the dictionary, with two empty oyster shells. 

2. Legendary Black Bog Cat

Courtesy Amazon

Visitors to Ireland may hear folk tales of the large black bog cat that lived near the shores of Lough Neagh. It was said to bring luck and great wealth and happiness to those whose path it crossed. (So much for those silly black cat superstitions!) Today souvenirs like this one made of 5,000 year old black turf bring good luck and happiness into the home. 

3. Unsinkable Sam

Courtesy ZME Science

Originally named Oscar, “Unsinkable Sam” survived not one, not two, but THREE shipwrecks in a six month span during World War II, on both the German and British sides! After surviving so many CAT-astrophes, he earned his rightful retirement at a ‘Home for Sailors’ in Belfast, Ireland until the end of his life. A portrait in his honor hangs in the National Maritime Museum in Greenwich. 

4. Beerbohm

Beerbohm the cat made his debut at London’s Gielgud Theatre (formerly the Globe) in an unscripted PURR-formance, casually strolling across the stage and stealing the show. He lived at the theatre from the mid-70’s until 1991, catching mice and occasionally attacking feathered hats and props, but generally serving as a good luck charm to the actors. When he died in 1995, he became the only cat to have a front-page obituary in the theatre newspaper The Stage, and his photo still hangs in the Gielgud to this day. 

5. Mayor Stubbs

Courtesy Jenni Konrad/Flickr

Stubbs, a tailless cat from Talkeetna, Alaska, became its mayor from 1997 – 2017, an honorary rather than a PAW-litical title. Based mainly out of Nagley’s General Store, where he was found as a kitten, every afternoon, Stubbs would visit a nearby restaurant and for a drink of catnip water out of a wineglass or margarita glass. He survived a fight with a dog, an accidental fall into a (cool and off!) deep fryer, and an accidental hitchhike out of town on a garbage truck before passing away at home at age 20. 

6. A VERY Lucky Maneki Neko

Courtesy Amazon

You may have seen Maneki Neko, the lucky cat statues that greet you at many restaurants, but this one is the CLAW-somest! The staff at Kauai Island Brewery had been stashing their spare change in their lucky cat for years. When they noticed it was full, they counted it out and the total was $950! Staff and owners rounded up the amount to $1250, which they donated to Autism advocacy group Be the Voice. What a purr-fect ending! 

7. Choupette Lagerfeld

Courtesy @choupetteofficiel/Instagram

Choupette was the beloved cat of the late designer Karl Lagerfeld. When he was alive he showered her with extravagant gifts and a life of luxury travel. Since his passing, rumors have swirled that she inherited his fortune. What is certain is that she is well cared for by her very own entourage, and her fame continues to grow with a best-selling book and a busy MEOW-deling career.

Do you have a lucky cat? Send us a pic and story, and we may feature you in our newsletter! 

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