Tibs the Great: Number One Cat of the British Post Office (1950-1964)

Over the years, cats have held many official positions in government and business. Often, their main duties were to control rodents, and such is the case with our subject today, a 23-pound tabby named Tibs.

Tibs in his basement domain.

Tibs the Great, as he was known, served as the “number one cat” of Britain’s Post Office Headquarters for nearly 14 years. Born in 1950, he arrived at the headquarters as a youngster and quickly took care of a little rat problem in the basement. Thereafter, Tibs continued to live in the basement and no more rats were seen. He was once found with a pigeon he’d caught, and someone rescued the bird from him.

Like any other member of the staff, Tibs was paid for his services. His wages amounted to 2 shillings 6 pence a week. A cleaner named Alf Talbut made sure the cat was fed every day. Talbut had also cared for Tibs’ mother, Minnie (the tabby’s father has never been identified).

In serving as the rodent controller in the Post Office Headquarters, Tibs continued the tradition of professional cats that officially began back in 1868, when three cats went to work as rodent controllers in London’s Money Order Office. For their work in catching mice, the three original cats were paid 1 shilling a week—meaning 1 shilling was used to feed them each week. And by the way, that was 1 shilling total for all three cats, not a shilling apiece.

In November 1964, when Tibs was nearing 14 years of age, one morning he failed to come for his morning meal. The cat was nowhere to be found, and it was several days later that Alf Talbut finally located him and took him to the vet’s, where it was discovered that he had cancer in his mouth. Sadly, nothing could be done for him, and Tibs’ productive life came to an end.

“There will never be another Tibs,” Talbut was quoted as saying in Tibs’ obituary.

 Truly, Tibs was an excellent cat!

Sources

Erin Blakemore, “A Brief History of Post Office Cats,” 9 February 2016, Smithsonian.com, https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/brief-history-post-office-cats-180958061/?no-ist

“Tibs the Great Is No More” (obituary), January 1965, Post Office Magazine, http://500years.royalmailgroup.com/gallery/tibs-the-great-is-no-more/

And now, for something completely different ...

We hope you've got your not-so-great pet photos ready, because tomorrow, Friday, May 25, is the Pet Photo Fails Blog Hop! We will open the linky at midnight Eastern time, and it will stay open through 11:59 p.m. Monday. So stop on by and join in the fun!

Official State Cats of the United States

The Maine coon is the state cat of--you guessed it!--Maine.
Photo via Adobe Stock.

 Our topic today is official cats, and specifically, cats that have been named as official symbols of states in the US. Only three states have named a certain type of domestic cat as their “state cat,” and only one of those is an actual breed of cat; the other two are cats with certain coat patterns. We don’t know why more states don’t have official cats, because a great cat is certainly something to be proud of. Interestingly, initiatives to name a state cat have often begun with schoolchildren (which just goes to show you who has their priorities in order).

Official state cats

The three states with official cats are Maine, Massachusetts, and Maryland. We guess it is a total coincidence that these states all begin with the letter M. (Or is it? Are you familiar with the M pattern that famously adorns the foreheads of tabby cats?)

Maine was the first state to name an official cat, back in 1985. It makes perfect sense that this state’s cat is the Maine coon, since this large breed “is regarded as a native of the state of Maine,” according to the kids’ section of the maine.gov website. The Cat Fanciers Association says that Maine was the first state to recognize these cats as a unique breed. Generally, Maine coons are known as sturdy, intelligent cats with a shaggy coat and tail, tufted paws, and large, tufted  ears. They appeared in cat shows as early as the 1860s, when Maine farmers organized a show at the Skowhegan Fair, which resulted in the winning cat being named “Maine State Champion Coon Cat.” In 1895, a Maine coon named Cosey won a cat show held at Madison Square Garden. You can see a picture of the silver collar she won in the CFA article “America’s First Show Cat—the Maine Coon Cat.”

You can also read more about the history of Maine coons in our post “Legends of the Maine Coon.”

Cats with a tabby coat pattern are the cat of the
commonwealth in Massachusetts.
Photo via Adobe Stock.

Massachusetts named the tabby the “official cat of the commonwealth” in 1988. “Tabby” is not a breed of cat; instead, the term describes a striped coat pattern that many cats have. Schoolchildren in the state pushed for the tabby to receive the honor of being the cat of the commonwealth. Why tabbies? We have so far not been able to find the answer to that question, so if you know, please tell us!

You can learn more about tabbies in our posts “Words with Webster: Tabby” and “Words with Webster: Mackerel and Blotched.”

In our home state of Maryland, the calico was named state cat in 2001. Again, “calico” is not a breed, it’s a coat pattern in which a cat has patches of black, orange, and white fur. The calico was chosen as state cat of Maryland because this coloring resembles the colors of other state symbols: the state flag, bird (Baltimore oriole), and insect (Baltimore checkerspot butterfly).

We are partial to the calico, which is our state cat
in Maryland.
Photo via Adobe Stock. 

Official state pets

Several other states do not have a specific state cat, but they have named dogs and cats either in shelters or adopted from shelters in their states as the “official state pets.”

In Colorado, the effort to declare as state pet those dogs and cats who are shelter alumni started in 2013 with some middle schoolers from Peakview School in Walsenburg. The goal was to bring attention to shelter pets (and to see the state’s legislative process up close). Despite objections from those representing the interests of breeders and dog-show organizers, as well as those who thought the bill discriminated against other kinds of pets, such as reptiles and birds, the measure passed both the House and Senate and was signed by Governor John Hickenlooper on May 13, 2013.

Tennessee declared dogs and cats adopted from the state’s shelters and rescues as the official state pet in 2014.

California named “a shelter pet” as its official state pet in 2015. In making this declaration, the state’s legislature wrote that the aim of the measure was “to raise public awareness of shelter animals.”

Illinois declared shelter dogs and cats (whether adopted from or currently in shelters) as the official state pet in August 2017.

In New Hampshire, the bobcat is the state wildcat.
Photo via Adobe Stock.

Honorable mentions: Wildcats and extinct cats

So far, we’ve dealt strictly with domestic cats, but some states have gone to the wild side when choosing cats as symbols.

In Florida, the endangered Florida panther was named the official state animal in 1982.

New Hampshire named the bobcat as its official state wildcat in 2015, with prompting from fourth- and fifth-graders at the Well School in Peterborough. (North Carolina also tried to make the bobcat the official state wildcat in 2015, but the attempt failed in the state’s senate.)

Finally, one state, California, has designated the extinct the saber-toothed cat as the state fossil.

Did we miss any official cats of the US? Let us know in the comments!

Additional Sources

“State Dogs/Cats,” State Symbols USA https://statesymbolsusa.org/categories/dog

“Official State Cats,” Netstate.com, http://www.netstate.com/states/tables/state_mammals_cats.htm

Book Review: Felix, the Railway Cat

We had been looking forward to reading Felix, the Railway Cat, by Kate Moore, for quite a while, and it turned out to be every bit as good as we’d hoped. So we are very happy to bring you this brief review today.

A tradition of railway cats

There’s a long tradition of railway cats in England, so it’s maybe not so crazy that the staff at Huddersfield Station decided it would be a great idea to get a station cat. (Huddersfield, for our fellow clueless Yanks, is a town in West Yorkshire, which, if you’re still clueless, is a bit north of the center of England.) To get this idea past management, they came up with a little story about having seen a mouse in the office. What do you do when you’ve seen a mouse? You hire a four-legged “pest controller,” of course.

And so a tiny black-and-white ball of fur arrived at the station and proceeded to get just about everyone there wrapped around its little paw. They named the kitten Felix. A trip to the vet revealed that “he” was a “she,” but no matter; the name stuck.

What does a station cat do all day? Well, she does her patrols around the platforms and other places. She hangs out by the bike rack.  She has been known to catch the odd mouse. She delights visitors. She deals with pigeons. She naps in inconvenient spots. She accepts treats, though we understand from Felix’s Facebookpage that she was put on a diet back in March and isn’t supposed to have treats anymore. Poor Felix!

It’s a full life. Well, you know, other than that diet thingy.

More than a cat

But the story told by Kate Moore is about far more than the antics of one cat. It’s also about how that cat totally transformed life at Huddersfield Station, how she changed the lives of the humans around her. Cats do that, you know, so cat stories always end up being about more than the cat. Felix is also a behind-the-scenes glimpse into the life of a railway station, which we found really fascinating. Huddersfield Station is quite a busy place, serving over 5 million passengers in 2015/16, and we enjoyed learning about how the station works almost as much as we enjoyed reading about Felix.

The entrance to Huddersfield Railway Station. This is part of Felix's domain.

Photo by Richard Harvey (Own work) [CC BY 3.0], via Wikimedia Commons.

Our verdict

We think there’s nothing better than a cat story well told, and Felix certainly is that. This book is a delight from cover to cover. The story of cat, station, staff, and passengers is woven deftly together in a way that consistently had us saying, “Just one more chapter…” And perhaps best of all, Felix is still the railway cat at Huddersfield Station (she’s been promoted to senior pest controller now), so there’s no wrenchingly sad part to sniffle through. There are sad moments, touching moments, uncertain moments (life is like that), but Felix comes through it okay.

Our favorite part involves a chimney, and that’s all I’m going to say about it.

Very highly recommended!

A note on the "Paws Up" system: Miss C gives either one or two paws up. One paw is for a good read; two paws is for a great read. She never gives three or four paws because that would require her to lie on her back...and Miss C does not do that!

The link below is an Amazon Associates link. If you purchase the book through this link, old SoLT and I could get some coin for our kibble account. Thank you!

The Calico: Official State Cat of Maryland

Calico cat.

Photo by Howcheng (Own work)

[GFDL, CC-BY-SA-3.0 or CC-BY-SA-2.5,

via Wikimedia Commons.

I, Miss Cuddlywumps, am a perfect example of a calico cat, with my mostly white body enhanced with distinct patches of black and orange. That coloring also makes me a perfect example of the official state cat of my home state, Maryland.

Why the calico is Maryland’s state cat

The calico has been Maryland’s state cat since October 1, 2001. We calicos were chosen as the state cat because our white, black, and orange coloring resembles the coloring of the Baltimore oriole (the state bird) and the Baltimore checkerspot butterfly (the state insect). And, although some of us are pretty sure the Maryland state flag is black, white, red, and yellow (not exactly orange), our calico colors are also associated with the flag.

“Calico” is not a breed

 We calicos are not a specific breed of cat; we just have a specific color pattern. A true calico must have large distinct blocks of the three colors. If the colors are blended together, the cat is called a tortoiseshell. Both calicos and tortoiseshells are almost always female. This is because coat color in cats is a genetically sex-linked trait. Calico males occur very rarely, and they are almost always sterile.

Other states have cats too

Maryland is one of only three states to have an official state cat of the domestic variety. The others are Maine (Maine coon) and Massachusetts (tabby). (Notice that all three of these states begin with the letter M. Coincidence? Yes, I think so.) Florida doesn’t have a state cat, but its state animal is the Florida panther, which certainly is a cat, though not a domestic one. Look for more information on the other state cats in upcoming posts!

And if you have a calico cat, be sure to treat her with the deference she deserves (especially if you live in Maryland)!