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This very special weekend is dedicated to all the pawsome dads who we treat with just a little extra love and attention for the occasion. And here at Basepaws, we, of course, we give some extra cuddles to our pawsome fur daddies too! In honor of (often overlooked) fur fathers out there, here is a list of our top most favorite famous men who are just as crazy about cats as all of us here at Basepaws! Happy Pawther's Day dear fur-dads!
1. Abraham Lincoln
Abraham Lincoln was the first known president to bring cats into the White House. The president had two cats, Tabby and Dixie, whom he both loved very much. On an occasion, he even fed Tabby from the table with a gold fork during a formal dinner at the White House. Reportedly, when his wife expressed embarrassment over this behavior, Lincoln simply explained that "If the gold fork was good enough for former President James Buchanan, I think it is good enough for Tabby."
2. Mark Twain
"I simply can’t resist a cat, particularly a purring one. They are the cleanest, cunningest, and most intelligent things I know." - Mark Twain. Samuel Langhorne Clemens, aka Mark Twain, was an American writer, humorist, entrepreneur, publisher and lecturer. Best known for his novels The Adventures of Tom Sawyer and Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, Twain was also infamous for his love for cats. Twain owned up to 19 cats at one point, and he gave them fantastical names such as Apollinaris, Blatherskite, Buffalo Bin, Satan and Soapy Sal. Happy Pawther's Day Mr. Twain!
3. Cardinal Richelieu
Arman Jean du Plessis, or better known as Cardinal Richelieu, was the chief minister of France’s King Louis XIII. Apparently, this historical icon had a very soft spot for cats, especially his black angora named Lucifer. Richelieu didn’t have any known children and he left most of his vast wealth to no other but his cats. Despite his efforts to continue care of his cats after his death, because he made a lot of enemies throughout his life, his beloved cats were massacred by Swiss soldiers after he was gone.
4. Ricky Gervais
Ricky Dene Gervais is an English stand-up comedian, actor, writer, producer, director and a singer. And in his own words, he loves animals more than humans. Gervais has repeatedly mentioned in his interviews that he loves both cats and dogs so much. He currently has a darling Siamese called "Ollie", of whom he spoke of in an interview with Ellen DeGeneres.
Gervais explained: "I love all animals and I wish I could have a dog [too]. But I travel a lot. A cat – you can leave it. You’re going and it goes like ‘whatever’. But a dog says ‘well, am I coming?’, and they have that look ‘what have I done wrong?’. I could not do it. It’s a big difference (between the two).".
5. Ian Somerhalder
Ian Joseph Somerhalder, is an American actor, model and director. He is best known for his roles in TV Dramas Lost and The Vampire Diaries. Somerhalder is a major animal lover. He has several cats and often posts a lot of photos with dogs and horses too. His fans are in love with his cat Moke and they often gush about the occasions when he brought his fur baby to his People’s Sexiest Man Alive shoot and to “The Vampire Diaries” shoot. His love for animals doesn’t stop here though. He started The Ian Somerhalder foundation, dedicated to rescuing stray animals.
6. James Franco
James Franco is an American actor, filmmaker and college instructor. He is very famous for his roles in numerous movies such as the Spider Man trilogy, Rise of the Planet of the Apes, Eat, Pray, Love and many more. Apparently, both James and his younger brother Dave are unapologetic cat lovers.
"[We] always had cats," explained Dave Franco to Vanity Fair. "We are the strange family where, like, over Christmas, if we all bring home the cats . . . we’d have like eight cats in the house at once, which we found out was illegal in Palo Alto where we grew up. So, we’re actually the weird cat family. I have two enormous cats right now. I’m the weird cat guy, and I’ve realized over the years that that is one of the quirkier things about me, but I’ve embraced it. I can’t hide ’em anymore."
7. Antonio Banderas
Banderas starred in many popular movies and he is often featured on ‘sexiest men alive’ lists. But when fans approach him, they seem to care only about Puss in Boots, the cat character he voiced in the 3 movies of the franchise. “Women and men and children will say, ‘I love that cat; do the cat!'” Banderas says. “I get more questions about that cat than I do about Zorro.”. And apparently, Banderas is just as crazy about cats as are his fans. He loves working on these films and puts a lot of thought into voicing his feline character.
8. Snoop Dogg
The famous American rapper was somewhat named after a cartoon beagle. His whole career was built on the background of the doggy theme. At the moment, Snoop Dogg has 11 dogs. You read that right! But, did you know he was a cat man too? According to Kreayshawn, "Snoop actually has two of the cutest little cats I have ever seen. I think their names were Rick James and Teena Marie" - reported LAWeekly.
9. Michael Hall
Best known for his role of Dexter Morgan, a serial killer and a blood spatter analyst, Michael Hall is very popular in the kitty world. The last we know is that Hall has two cats who helped him go through his divorce from Jennifer Carpenter, back in 2009. “I spend a lot of time with my cats,” the actor told PEOPLE, "They’re both boys, they’re both very affectionate. Their names are Preacher and Ford. They’re my four-legged friends."
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Basepaws team wishes happy Pawther’s Day to all the amazing fathers out there. Is your father also a cat man? Use the code “pawther18” at the checkout to get a discount for this special occasion! Are you a fan of any male cat lovers you would like to add to our little list? #pawthersday P.S. Psst, our list of favorite fur-moms is right here!