The annals of science are full of cat lovers. It turns out that plenty of famous scientists not only had cats, but they sometimes even credited their feline companions with helping them advance their work (or at least provide a welcome distraction from it). Here are five kitty collaborators who “worked” closely with some of history’s most well-known scientific names.
1. Albert Einstein and Tiger
Albert Einstein famously loved animals. “If a man aspired towards a righteous life, his first act of abstinence is from injury to animals,” he said, and was himself known to own multiple pets, including a dog and a parrot. But it was his cat Tiger who seemed to get the most attention, at least as far as posterity is concerned. Biographers have recorded that Einstein was sensitive to Tiger’s moods, noting for example that the cat got depressed when it was raining.
Cats apparently held a big enough place in Einstein’s heart that they pop up in quotes historically attributed to him. In his analogy explaining the telegraph, Einstein is said to have likened the technology to a long cat. “You pull his tail in New York and his head is meowing in Los Angeles,” he said.
