October 11, 2026 Back Home

Cats, Baseball, and Litter Lore

As America’s pastime heats up, the sports world’s most entertaining wild cards are on the diamond, and we’re at home watching from our couch with our cats.

While there is no obvious connection between cats and baseball—except for the mascots, of course—if we dig a little deeper it appears felines indeed have quite a place in the game of hardball.

From legendary curses to elusive strays stealing the spotlight, the baseball diamond has seen its fair share of whiskered interlopers. And believe it or not, cat litter has even found a place in baseball lore. More on that later. First, let’s chat black cats and curses.

The Legend of the Cubs and the Black Cat

The most famous feline to ever step onto a Major League Baseball field is undeniably the black cat of 1969.

It was September 9th at Shea Stadium, and the Chicago Cubs were clinging to a narrow division lead over the New York Mets. In the middle of the game, a stray black cat wandered onto the field, parading directly past Cubs legend Ron Santo in the on-deck circle before strutting in front of the Chicago dugout and disappearing beneath the grandstands.

The Cubs ended up losing that game 7-1, and they eventually lost the division to the Mets. To this day, superstitious baseball fans point to that fearless feline as the harbinger of the “curse” that doomed the Cubs’ 1969 season.

While the 1969 black cat might be the most infamous, it is far from the only feline to grace the outfield grass.

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The St. Louis “Rally Cat”

On August 9, 2017, during a game between the St. Louis Cardinals and the Kansas City Royals, a gray stray kitten darted across the outfield at Busch Stadium.

A groundskeeper managed to scoop up the feisty kitten—getting bitten and scratched repeatedly in the process—before safely carrying it off the field.

On the very next pitch after play resumed, Cardinals catcher Yadier Molina smashed a go-ahead grand slam. The stray was instantly dubbed the “Rally Cat.” The Cardinals embraced the feline momentum, going on a late-season win streak, while local animal shelters used the viral moment to raise thousands of dollars for animal rescues.

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The Marlins Park Home Run Sculpture Cat

Earlier in 2017, a stray cat found its way onto the field at Marlins Park during a game between the Miami Marlins and the Atlanta Braves. After scaling the outfield wall, the agile cat climbed all the way into the inner workings of the stadium’s towering, colorful home run sculpture in center field.

The game had to be briefly paused while stadium personnel figured out how to safely retrieve it. The cat eventually found a cozy spot inside the structure to rest, immediately becoming a viral social media star and an unofficial mascot for Marlins fans.

Unfortunately, cats crashing baseball games is an all too common occurrence it appears.

While fans at home love the viral highlight reels of groundskeepers desperately trying to corral a speedy tabby, the reality is that cats often get incredibly nervous when they find themselves lost on a sprawling field. The blaring stadium lights, the thundering roar of tens of thousands of cheering fans, and the wide-open space naturally trigger a cat’s instinct to run and hide.

Fortunately, these stadium crashers almost always find a safe exit or get scooped up by local rescues, earning a lifetime of street cred in the process.

Plenty of positive Feline Energy

Cats also bring a scrappy, agile spirit to the clubhouse, and so shout-out to the Minor League Baseball teams that have embraced cat-themed monikers and mascots—like the New Hampshire Fisher Cats and the Lynchburg Hillcats.

And in the ultimate show of solidarity with our feline friends, some baseball teams have even held special nights where fans are encouraged to bring their cats to the game.

And now for a litter grand slam.

The Ultimate Cleanup Hitter

Was cat litter really used on baseball fields? If you think about it, it’s perhaps the most practical connection between baseball and cats.

For decades, local baseball coaches and grassroots groundskeepers have used traditional clay kitty litter as a makeshift drying agent to soak up puddles around home plate and the basepaths after a heavy rain. Professional groundskeepers, however, warn that standard clay litter can become a slick, slippery mess on a major league diamond.

To be clear, we do not recommend using our litter on your baseball field, but as a corn-based cat litter we certainly appreciate a showing of Field of Dreams now and again.

Got any other connections between cats and baseball? Let us know in the comments below!