ADVERTISEMENT

Regardless of age, cats have always seemed to be around people, even if they are lurking in the shadows. Nowadays, with the internet nearly breaking from the number of cat pictures and videos uploaded daily, we are exposed to their quirkiness and odd habits like never before.

However, that doesn't mean that those characteristics were never noticed before or discovered just recently. A Twitter account by the name of "Cats of Yore" collects old photographs of cats and serves as a time machine for those of us who are willing to witness the history of these fur balls. 

With all of that out of the way, scroll down to see how cats were photographed throughout history!

More info: twitter.com | Instagram

#1

This Twitter Account Brings Together The Best Pictures Of Cats And Their Stories From The Past

"Two convicted murderers of Folsom State Prison rescued a baby linnet and a newborn kitten from hunger and malnutrition and nursed them back to health. The cat and bird live in the prison's print shop in complete harmony." 1936.

CatsOfYore Report

Bored Panda reached out to Molly Hodgdon, the person behind the account of "Cats of Yore". First, we asked her about how the whole thing started, and here's what she told us.

"It really started out of love for cats and history! Not trying to build a following or anything like that. I've always been a cat lover and I love feeling connected to other cat lovers throughout the centuries through art and photography. I was frustrated by a lot of the historical image accounts on Twitter that are just bots or people who do image searches but never provide any additional information - or worse, false information. So I'd see a fantastic cat photo but I'd have to do extensive image searches to find out where it came from and/or debunk the dumb fake 'facts' that accompanied it."

ADVERTISEMENT
#3

This Twitter Account Brings Together The Best Pictures Of Cats And Their Stories From The Past

Priest and kitten, 1954.

CatsOfYore Report

Add photo comments
POST
master_minds9_1 avatar
DennyS (denzoren)
Community Member
2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Forgive me father, for I have sinned....but the tuna was just there for the taking.

View More Replies...
View more commentsArrow down menu

"I thought instead of complaining I should just start one for myself and if other people found it eventually, that would be great. If not, that was fine too. If you go back to the beginning it was just months and months of me posting tons of images with museum links and absolutely no interaction or followers whatsoever. I didn't use hashtags or spam anyone or follow tons of people trying to grow the account. It really is a labor of love, not a ploy for Twitter success because I thought 'Hey, the internet loves cats so I'm gonna exploit that'."

#4

This Twitter Account Brings Together The Best Pictures Of Cats And Their Stories From The Past

All hail this proto-goth queen, 1962.

CatsOfYore Report

ADVERTISEMENT
#5

This Twitter Account Brings Together The Best Pictures Of Cats And Their Stories From The Past

Nadine Dennis with her cat, film star Puzzums. Ca. 1930.

CatsOfYore Report

What's interesting, is that Hodgdon actually has an archive full of cat pictures that she keeps adding to as she often finds them in places like flea markets and yard sales.

"I have a collection of dozens and dozens (hundreds, maybe? Not sure) of vintage cat photos and postcards from all over the world. I pick through flea markets, yard sales, thrift stores, and scour online sources for them and keep them in big photo albums - the old-fashioned kind with black pages and little adhesive photo corners. I posted a photo where you can see part of it here. It's the kind of thing that I didn't usually tell anyone about or show anyone because it's so boring - I mean, it's absolutely wonderful to me, but most people will just nod politely and look for the nearest exit if I tried to show it to them. That's one of the great things about Cats of Yore, I've found this community of people who get as excited about dusty old cat photos as I do."

ADVERTISEMENT
#6

This Twitter Account Brings Together The Best Pictures Of Cats And Their Stories From The Past

“Just we two” Postcard from my collection. Copyright 1907, mailed 1909.

This photo is by C.E. Bullard, my favorite of the Victorian/Edwardian cat photographers. He seemed to genuinely love cats and he didn't cram them into stiff costumes or strap them into uncomfortable anthropomorphic positions.

CatsOfYore Report

Given how many pictures Molly has collected over the years, we were wondering if she had any favorites. The owner of the Twitter page was quick to share, "Hard to pick, but some favorites from my personal collection are:

A lady named Fay annoying her cats with unsolicited affection.

An ethereal ghost cat from the 1960s.

This cool lady and her cat who will not be messed with."

#8

This Twitter Account Brings Together The Best Pictures Of Cats And Their Stories From The Past

"Survivor of Fountain of the World headquarters bombing Jesse Vezina sleeps with her cat in front of the fireplace, 1958."

CatsOfYore Report

ADVERTISEMENT
ADVERTISEMENT
#9

This Twitter Account Brings Together The Best Pictures Of Cats And Their Stories From The Past

Gorgeous little historical blep, ca. 1930s.

CatsOfYore Report

"Cats Of Yore" is an account dedicated solely to cat images (as well as occasional humans in the pictures with the cats), but we couldn't help but wonder why Molly didn't choose to share historic pictures of other pets like dogs.

"I've always loved cats. My parents love cats and kitties are very present all throughout our family photo albums. Everyone has a favorite animal, like dolphins, pandas, tigers, etc. It just happens that I'm lucky enough to get to live with my favorite animal and see them every day. I also love dogs and reptiles and other pets! And other animals in general - I'm vegan and support several farm sanctuaries, I love pigs, cows, goats, turkeys, all of them. But cats will always be closest to my heart."

#10

This Twitter Account Brings Together The Best Pictures Of Cats And Their Stories From The Past

Top secret kitten lab, 1975.

CatsOfYore Report

#11

This Twitter Account Brings Together The Best Pictures Of Cats And Their Stories From The Past

Kitten yelling for lunch, I think! Ca. 1900.

CatsOfYore Report

ADVERTISEMENT

Molly not only shares the historic and fascinating images of cats but also uses her social media page to raise money for animal shelters.

"At first it was purely about celebrating these images and the history behind them, but as my follower count grows, I've also started inserting a little more of myself while still maintaining 99% of the focus on old images. I've used social media to raise over $20,000 for animal shelters over the years and if I can use Cats of Yore to contribute to that I'm certainly going to do it."

#12

This Twitter Account Brings Together The Best Pictures Of Cats And Their Stories From The Past

Adoptable kitten in 1952.

CatsOfYore Report

Add photo comments
POST
missymay192 avatar
I'm.Just.A.Girl
Community Member
2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Aww. This hurts my heart! I would've taken you home Tiger! I pray he found his forever home ❤️

View more commentsArrow down menu

"My other goal is to promote 'less adoptable' pets. My cats have a virus called FIV that is widely misunderstood and results in these cats being put down even though they can live long, healthy lives. So it's really important to me that I advocate for them and for the other shelter animals that get left behind because they're older or have medical or behavioral challenges. So basically I don't have plans to personally monetize or write a book or anything, just a bunch of totally insufferable do-gooder stuff."

ADVERTISEMENT
#14

This Twitter Account Brings Together The Best Pictures Of Cats And Their Stories From The Past

"Henri Matisse with cat curled between his legs, working from his bed" 1949.

CatsOfYore Report

Add photo comments
POST
paulmetcalfe761 avatar
Socrates
Community Member
2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

This is my working from home dream - sat up in bed in my pyjamas surrounded by my cats

View More Replies...
View more commentsArrow down menu
#15

This Twitter Account Brings Together The Best Pictures Of Cats And Their Stories From The Past

"Mustard, the mascot for the 321st tank company pictured here with Sgt. Paul Postal. Mustard joined the tank crew on Halloween 1918 and stuck out the rest of the conflict with them."

CatsOfYore Report

Lastly, we wanted to find out a little bit more about Molly herself as well as her two cats!

"There's not much to tell about me. I'm 45 and a freelance writer in Vermont. My cats are amazing, though. Both of them came from rough backgrounds and have chronic health challenges beyond the FIV so they need daily medications and frequent vet visits, yet despite all that they are so sweet and happy. They love me, they love each other, they love playing, they love snacks, they're just little supernovas of joy even after everything they're been through. That resilience amazes and inspires me. Francie is purring in my lap as I type this and Fergus is curled up beside us. It's a totally mundane scene that plays out every day but it fills me with gratitude and contentment. That's what cats do for humans, they've graced us with beauty, comedy and comfort for thousands of years and it's amazing!"

ADVERTISEMENT
#16

This Twitter Account Brings Together The Best Pictures Of Cats And Their Stories From The Past

I love this photo so much. The cat is completely unconcerned that the woman is doing some kind of complicated weaving work and just jammed itself into her lap. Ca. 1923.

CatsOfYore Report

#18

This Twitter Account Brings Together The Best Pictures Of Cats And Their Stories From The Past

Whenever I see a photo like this I like to think they set out to do a portrait in the chair but the cat took over and nobody was willing to move it. Ca. 1910s.

CatsOfYore Report

#19

This Twitter Account Brings Together The Best Pictures Of Cats And Their Stories From The Past

Joan Collins tends to a tiny kitten, ca. 1957.

CatsOfYore Report

ADVERTISEMENT
See Also on Bored Panda
#21

This Twitter Account Brings Together The Best Pictures Of Cats And Their Stories From The Past

Young lady smoking pipe with cat friend. Ca. 1905.

CatsOfYore Report

Add photo comments
POST
allmaurer11111985 avatar
Allmommy.eleven.85
Community Member
2 years ago (edited) DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Hair like that is rarely replicated correctly in modern days. The cat however, timeless.

View More Replies...
View more commentsArrow down menu
#22

This Twitter Account Brings Together The Best Pictures Of Cats And Their Stories From The Past

I would go anywhere with him, no questions asked. 1929.

CatsOfYore Report

Add photo comments
POST
alara avatar
'Aine LaRaia
Community Member
2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

mom: remember stranger danger dont go into peoples cars. me:OMG ITS A CAT! BYE MOM

View more commentsArrow down menu
#23

This Twitter Account Brings Together The Best Pictures Of Cats And Their Stories From The Past

Why do cats put up with us? 1937.

CatsOfYore Report

#24

This Twitter Account Brings Together The Best Pictures Of Cats And Their Stories From The Past

"Wandering cat looks disturbed as she was rudely awakened early today when Valley Times photographers came to work. The buff-colored feline apparently slipped into photo lab last night, slept, and then sneaked out when offices opened." 1960.

CatsOfYore Report

#25

This Twitter Account Brings Together The Best Pictures Of Cats And Their Stories From The Past

Soldier with photobombing sleepy cat. 1915.

CatsOfYore Report

#26

This Twitter Account Brings Together The Best Pictures Of Cats And Their Stories From The Past

I don't mean to judge but they look like bad tippers to me. 19th century.

CatsOfYore Report

Add photo comments
POST
carneyl0223 avatar
Laura Carney
Community Member
2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Cat1: "I said I wanted mouse tartar, not mouse fillet you peasants!" Cat2: "Can't we just have one nice afternoon tea Tom? You do this every time."

View More Replies...
View more commentsArrow down menu
ADVERTISEMENT
See Also on Bored Panda
#27

This Twitter Account Brings Together The Best Pictures Of Cats And Their Stories From The Past

"Plain alley cats get a chance to act at Barnes zoo at Culver City, Cal. are being taught circus tricks, and will have mastered stunts that will surprise when the show hits the road this summer." 1925.

CatsOfYore Report

Add photo comments
POST
cassilyris avatar
Cassi Lyris
Community Member
2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

I'd prefer they weren't in a circus, but it's better than dying on the street.

View More Replies...
View more commentsArrow down menu
#28

This Twitter Account Brings Together The Best Pictures Of Cats And Their Stories From The Past

Young women walking their cats. 1929.

CatsOfYore Report

#29

This Twitter Account Brings Together The Best Pictures Of Cats And Their Stories From The Past

Cat, Sinbad, supervising Britt Lomond and his wife Dianne working on new script. 1961.

CatsOfYore Report

#30

This Twitter Account Brings Together The Best Pictures Of Cats And Their Stories From The Past

This little one was not giving interviews. 1978.

CatsOfYore Report

Note: this post originally had 70 images. It’s been shortened to the top 30 images based on user votes.