I may be traipsing around in Ireland right now, but the miracle of technology has allowed me to make sure you get your weekly dose of cat. Here is Hopper cooling herself off from the afternoon heat in the underbrush of the jungle that is our backyard. Next week I hope to have an Irish cat or two in this space. We’ll see.
In other news, the Economist has produced a chart of presidential pets that allows us to identify our most cat-friendly president. The winner is…Rutherford B. Hayes! His three cats make him an honest winner of this contest, unlike his rather dubious election to the White House. The Presidential Pet Museum informs me that his first cat was Siam, given to him as a gift from the American consul in Bangkok. She was the first Siamese cat in America. His second cat was Miss Pussy, another Siamese cat. Finally, with his third cat, he started to show a bit of naming creativity, choosing Piccolomini for reasons lost to history.
It’s been a long time since a president had more than one cat. Calvin Coolidge was the most recent, with his two cats Tiger and Blacky. I have a feeling I know what they looked like.
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