July 3, 2026 Back Home

250 Years of Cats in the USA!

The history of cats in the USA is wild! 🇺🇸

According to America’s historical timeline, our furry friends have been quietly—and sometimes ferociously—influencing elements of American culture, politics, technology, and more.

And so because it’s the nation’s 250th anniversary, we figured what better time to celebrate cats!

From the Civil War to the dawn of the internet, enjoy this quick look at some of the more significant feline moments in U.S. history.

Cats in the 19th century — Political Pioneers

Long before they took over the internet, cats conquered some of the most important posts in the land — no, not scratching posts.

1861–1865: Lincoln’s Cabinet Diss

Abraham Lincoln could be considered America’s first true “Cat President.”

Gifted two felines named Tabby and Dixie by Secretary of State William Seward, Lincoln famously fed Tabby with a golden fork during formal White House dinners. When Lincoln’s first lady questioned the habit, Lincoln allegedly replied that if the golden fork was good enough for former presidents, it was good enough for Tabby.

1878: The First Siamese Ambassador

President Rutherford B. Hayes and his wife Lucy welcomed “Siam,” the very first Siamese cat to ever touch down on American soil. Shipped all the way from a U.S. diplomat in Bangkok, Siam officially kicked off America’s obsession with exotic cat breeds.

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Cats in the 20th century — Literary & Pop-Culture Icons

As American media expanded, cats shifted from simple mouse catchers into literary muses and pop-culture phenomena.

1930s: Hemingway’s Six-Toed Dynasty

Legendary author Ernest Hemingway was gifted a white polydactyl (six-toed) cat named Snow White by a ship captain in Key West, Florida. Hemingway became obsessed with them, and today, dozens of Snow White’s polydactyl descendants still freely roam and protect the Ernest Hemingway Home and Museum.

1970s: The Sassy Comic Boom

When comic strips took over American Sunday papers, felines rightfully ruled the funny pages. Jim Davis introduced Garfield in 1978, capturing the collective American spirit of hating Mondays and loving lasagna. And many other cat cartoons ensued!

1993: Socks the Cat and the Early Web

Bill Clinton’s tuxedo cat, Socks, was a media darling who regularly “addressed” the press corps. President Clinton famously noted that the newly invented White House website featured an audio file of Socks meowing, making him one of the very first cats to go digital.

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Cats in the 21st Century — Digital Overlords & Meme Royalty

Once the internet matured, cats became the undisputed currency of online culture.

2005: The First YouTube Cat

On May 22, 2005, YouTube co-founder Steve Chen uploaded the platform’s very first cat video, titled Pajamas and Nick Drake. It opened the floodgates for billions of subsequent cat videos.

2007: The I Can Has Cheezburger Era

The birth of the modern “LOLcat” meme style took off when a picture of a chubby gray cat asking for a cheeseburger spawned a massive website and an entirely new internet dialect (“lolspeak”).

2012: The Reign of Grumpy Cat

An angry-looking kitty named Tardar Sauce became an overnight viral sensation due to her permanent frown. Grumpy Cat became the face of American internet cynicism, landing movie deals, book contracts, and a permanent spot in the history of modern cat memes. Sadly, Grumpy Cat passed away in 2019.

1997–2017: Mayor Stubbs of Alaska

Discontent with human politicians, the historic district of Talkeetna, Alaska, elected an orange tabby kitten named Stubbs as their honorary mayor via a write-in campaign. Stubbs successfully “governed” the town for 20 years, drawing thousands of tourists annually and drinking water out of a wineglass laced with catnip at the local general store.

2021: “I Am Not a Cat”

At the height of the Covid-19 pandemic, during the early adoption of Zoom meetings, a lawyer famously couldn’t figure out how to turn off a cat filter — telling the judge he was prepared to go forward and that was indeed not a cat.

2024: Sputnik’s Long Jump

In February 2024, a cat named Sputnik set a Guinness World Record for the longest jump by a cat, leaping an incredible 7 feet 6 inches on the set of Lo Show Dei Record in Italy.

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We know we couldn’t possibly cover the entire 250 years, so let us know what you think we missed, and which era of American cat history is your favorite?