Famous Cats of Wellington

I love cats! You probably do too, or you wouldn’t have clicked through.

Wellington is in the midst of mania! He is the undisputed darling of social media, and deservedly so. Those looks. That sass and swagger. But Mittens isn’t the most famous cat connected to Wellington.

Meet some other Welly cats, past and present, and find out the most famous of them all.

Lola

Before there was Lola, a pussy cat whose Facebook page dates back to 2012.

I first met ‘The Queen of Aro Park’ in 2014. Lola kept my laptop bag warm while I was doing some work on a bench.

Lola could always be relied upon for cat cuddles and was known to ‘be there’ when people needed a friend.

Mittens might have made it to the 2018 Wellington Advent Calandar but Lola has her own Garage Project beer! She’s also been imortalised in a mural.

In 2017, Lola had an incident with a dog in which she lost a leg but she recovered well and will be turning twelve in 2019. If you want to send or a card, her birthday is November 9. The best address is c/- Aro Valley Community Centre. 48 Aro St, Aro Valley, Wellington 6021.

Floyd

Floyd was a tabby rescue cat. He was Wellington’s celebrity in the nineties. Carol Kisby was president of the Wellington Cats Protection League. She also ran the Penthouse Cinema where Floyd would greet you at the box office.

According to Carol, when movie-goers were seated, Floyd would wait for the lights to go down, then choose a lap to curl up in. “He used to scare the hell out of people. People did not expect a cat to hop on them in a darkened cinema. He was a nice boy, quite the entertainer – a drawcard in his own right. “

Like Mittens, Floyd would saunter around his hood, sunning himself in shop windows and popping into the deli for a snack.

Floyd’s reign as King of Brooklyn ended in 1996.

Monty

Monty is an older gentleman who resides in Thorndon. He may not be known Wellington-wide but he’s a hit with the
gym rats at City Fitness and the ladies of Wellington Girls’ College.

You’ll find him at ‘Monty’s Corner’ at the bottom of a well-trafficked set of steps which takes students to the buses on Thorndon Quay. Monty was reliably there when I went to grab some photos of him for this blog. But it was his nap time so here’s a sleepy snap.

Someone has added ‘Monty’s Corner‘ as a place of worship on Google maps. You can even get an Uber or pizza delivered to the location.

Monty’ is an all-weather cat. He’ll happily stay out in the rain, but in February 2019 someone placed a little house at Monty’s Corner to keep him warm and dry.

Chickadee

Chickadee is a cafe cat. You’ll find her at Scorch-O-Rama.

She used to live in a few doors down. When the owners moved, Chickadee didn’t. The new residents had dogs. Chickadee didn’t approve.

Scorch-O-Rama took her in. They feed her, worm her, and keep her flea-free. Chickadee gets TLC 7 days a week from customers and she’s the most popular member of staff.

After hours, Chickadee flits between the catflaps of the two flats upstairs. If you’re planning on paying her a visit, pick a quiet time. Chickadee doesn’t do the rush hour hustle.

Mrs Chippy

The true test of fame is a lasting legacy. One cat connected to Wellington has had more impact on history and the arts than any other. The honour of Wellington’s most famous cat goes to Chippy.

Mrs Chippy responded to a newspaper ad which read, “Men wanted for hazardous journey. Low wages, bitter cold, long hours of complete darkness. Safe return doubtful. Honour and recognition in event of success.”

Well, technically, his owner responded to the ad. Did I say his owner? Yep. Mrs Chippy was a he.

On Ernest Shackleton’s dangerous expedition to Antarctica in 1914, Harry McNish was Master and carpenter. A slang word for carpenter in most commonwealth countries is ‘chippy’. In the crew’s eyes, Harry’s cat would follow him everywhere on board like a doting wife. Hence the name, ‘Mrs Chippy’.

Cats have been aboard ships since ancient times. Their main job is to control rodents which can otherwise devour provisions and chew through ropes. As Ship’s Cat, Mrs Chippy had many adventures including a fall overboard one night. Luckily, the officer on watch heard Mrs Chippy’s meows and turned the ship around to pick him up.

Sadly, Mrs Chippy was the only member of the crew who didn’t make it back from the Antarctic but he and Harry McNish were reunited in 2004 when a life-size bronze statue of Mrs Chippy was placed on Harry’s Karori Cemetary grave. A gesture from the New Zealand Antarctic Society.

So what makes Mrs Chippy the most famous? His cultural legacy, which lives on through the arts.

• In 1997, a novel called Mrs Chippy’s Last Expedition: The Remarkable Journal of Shackleton’s Polar-Bound Cat, by Caroline Alexander, was published by Bloomsbury.
• In 2001, Mrs Chippy was played by a cat named Mac in a Channel 4 film starring Kenneth
• In 2011, South Georgia and Sandwich Islands issued a postage stamp featuring Mrs Chippy.
• In 2012, German band, Yellow Belly, included a track about Mrs Chippy on their album.
• In 2015, an original opera called ‘Shackelton’s Cat’ was composed by Russell Hepplewhite and performed by English Touring Opera.
• In 2016, Composer Andrew Boscardin wrote a string quartet piece titled, Mrs Chippy- Alteration of Motion.

There’s a couple of cats I’ll be adding to this story as soon as I track them down for a photo shoot. Do you know any ‘cats of the people’ that Wellington needs to know about?