Famous Felines

Hi friends of the Sanctuary,

It's me Creamsicle. Of course that's not me pictured above, but Morris the Cat! Over the years there have been many famous felines. Who doesn't know about Sylvester, Garfield, and the Cat in the Hat. But I think the most famous of all would have to be Morris. Of course us handsome orange tabby cats have to stick together!

The story of Morris is a special one. Morris the Cat has been the advertising mascot for 9Lives brand cat food for many years.

There have been three different cats who have played Morris. The very first Morris was adopted from a Chicago area animal shelter in 1968. In 1969 he landed the role of Morris in the famous cat food commercials and was an overnight success! The original Morris passed away in 1978 and was later replaced by two more cats who took on the role of Morris. All 3 of the Morris cats were rescued from shelters.

Morris was also credited with "writing" or shall I say "pawing" three books on cat care. And did you know that Morris actually ran in the 1988 and 1992 presidential elections on the Finicky Party platform, campaigning for cats everywhere to enjoy a standard of nutrition?

Morris has represented the epitome of the spoiled and pampered pet over the years. The original Morris was actually named "Lucky", and lucky he was! He spent part of his life in the Hindsale Humane Society Animal Shelter in Illinois until an employee of the Leo Burnett Advertising Agency rescued him and turned him into a major TV star. In fact the original Morris was only 20 minutes away from being euthanized when he was rescued!

Morris has appeared in movies as well, and has been the official "spokescat" promoting responsible pet ownership, pet health and adopts throughout many animal shelters.

Of all the famous cats, Morris is my favorite - because just like us felines here at the Forget Me Not Cat Sanctuary, he was resuced from certain doom, only to live out a great life.

Purrs,

Creamsicle