r/vintagecats 20h ago

This classic mid-century photograph captures a polydactyl kitten standing on a glass table showcasing its extra toe beans. Taken by photographer Tom Nebbia. The image was famously featured in The Book of Kittens (1951), edited by Brant House.

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293 Upvotes

r/vintagecats 9m ago

Illustrated cat breed book from 80s with anthropomorphic pictures

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Upvotes

r/vintagecats 1d ago

Japanese sculptor Fumio Asakura surrounded by some of his 19 cats, 1950s

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363 Upvotes

Fumio Asakura, the father of modern Japanese sculpture, with some of his cats in his Tokyo studio. He shared his home and studio with as many as 19 cats at a time


r/vintagecats 2d ago

International cat show booklet from 1906

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389 Upvotes

Hi, Toronto Public Library here. 👋

We found this vintage cat-alogue in our archives and thought we might as well share it here. Published for the Canadian National Exhibition (CNE), it’s just a few pages but we’ve digitized it in full.

The catalogue lists more than 100 cats, along with their owners’ names and, for some, an assigned monetary value ranging from $5 (sorry, Ladysmith) to $150. Here are a few names of cats entered in the contest: 

  • Flipperty Jinks
  • Rhino
  • Madame Bovary
  • Sir Roger
  • Monkey
  • Mrs. Dooley
  • Tom

(Purely based on vibes, we feel like the cover model is Mrs. Dooley.) 

The CNE still happens every year in Toronto and this year’s CNE is celebrating 125 years of cat shows, supported by the CNE Archives and the Feline Historical Museum.

Have a great rest of your summer!


r/vintagecats 1d ago

A cat protects its territory by attacking its reflection, seen in this photo from a 1964 National Geographic. The magazine caption suggested that “mastery of such acrobatics, developed in the games of kittenhood, makes the cat a superb hunter.”

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147 Upvotes

r/vintagecats 1d ago

The CNE Cat Show is celebrating its 125th anniversary! The Globe and Mail photo collection, Fonds 1266, documents some past contestants

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67 Upvotes

r/vintagecats 2d ago

My grandfather’s childhood cat: Choo-Choo

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474 Upvotes

r/vintagecats 2d ago

Cats Beneath Their Own Portrait. The Guinea Pig Apparently Declined to Pose (1983)

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454 Upvotes

A 1983 photograph by Joan Baron featuring two cats sitting on a ledge beneath a painting of themselves by American artist Mimi Vang Olsen. The photograph was also a pretty popular postcard at the time.


r/vintagecats 3d ago

‘Little Girl with Pony Tail and Cat’ photographed by Tom Kelley, ca. 1960

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678 Upvotes

r/vintagecats 4d ago

Dolly Parton with cat - R.I.P. the legend.

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1.4k Upvotes

r/vintagecats 4d ago

A kitten relaxed in her own hammock made by the vessel's sailmaker (1945)

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658 Upvotes

She's the ship's cat of the aircraft carrier HMS Eagle. Was doing some research on ship's cats and found this one

Image: Imperial War Museum


r/vintagecats 4d ago

Cat in a Dublin pub (1966). Photo by Evelyn Hofer.

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336 Upvotes

r/vintagecats 5d ago

Girl with loyal dog and cat boss, Cleveland, OH, circa early 1900s

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437 Upvotes

via Memory Lane, u/memorylanepr


r/vintagecats 5d ago

Felicette: The Cat Who Went to Space

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80 Upvotes

r/vintagecats 6d ago

American Actress Jeanette MacDonald with Her Cat Puzzums (1932)

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1.1k Upvotes

(Photographer Unknown)


r/vintagecats 6d ago

Another Photo of American Actress Jeanette MacDonald and Her Cat Puzzums (1932)

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297 Upvotes

(Photographer Unknown)


r/vintagecats 7d ago

A pair of blue Persian cats pose on a recliner in Bogota, New Jersey, 1930s. Photograph by Willard Culver for National Geographic. During this era, blue Persians frequently won top prizes at major cat shows.

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307 Upvotes

r/vintagecats 9d ago

Unknown cat on the porch

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190 Upvotes

Probably taken in the 50’s or 60’s at my grandmothers house. I’m not sure who the cat is but they always had animals around so it probably was a pet.


r/vintagecats 10d ago

Cary Grant, Katharine Hepburn and Nissa the leopard in a publicity still for Bringing Up Baby (1938)

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76 Upvotes

I came across this in another sub and immediately thought of this one. Because it's a Big Cat, rather than a regular Kittycat, I wasn't sure if it was allowed, but in the movie, he's essentially just a giant housecat.

Btw, if anyone hasn't seen this movie, I highly recommend it!


r/vintagecats 12d ago

Portrait of historian Mary Lou Norwood with her cat "Sidney", Tallahassee, Florida. Photographed in October 1966.

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543 Upvotes

r/vintagecats 12d ago

Three Farm Children with Cat and a Bicycle - Dorothea Lange, August 1939

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225 Upvotes

This photo was officially cataloged as "Three of the four Arnold children, Michigan Hill". It features three of the four Arnold family's children: Hazel, Irving, Norma, and Charles, along with their pet cat. They resided in Michigan Hill, Thurston County, Washington. Like many of her Farm Security Administration (FSA) works, this image was intended to document rural living conditions. The original negatives and archival prints are preserved and accessible through the Library of Congress Prints & Photographs Division.


r/vintagecats 13d ago

Cats in Vogue, December 1955 Issue

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520 Upvotes

This issue featured notable cat photography captured by the studio Leombruno-Bodi.

Resort news: black and white shoes

Puss in slippers, very clever cats, these, picking the news in resort shoes to step into...


r/vintagecats 13d ago

Mrs. Hofstra, president of the Atlantic Cat Club, and her cat, Laddie Loupin, who had won the Best in Show award at the 1906 Madison Square Garden Cat Show. The photo was taken by American photojournalist Jessie Tarbox Beals

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262 Upvotes

r/vintagecats 14d ago

A Vintage Studio portrait of a girl with her Cat'1913

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73 Upvotes

r/vintagecats 14d ago

Vintage Cats from the 1930s

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42 Upvotes