You just can’t ignore cats, can you? I know that I can’t ignore my neighbour’s adorable little moggy when he comes over to my balcony at 5 in the morning to wail and hiss and perform his full range of impressive verbal gymnastics. What other famous cats have we been unable to ignore through history? Quite a few it seems.

1. Felix the Cat

This cheeky chap took part in some of the earliest ever cartoons and was probably the first famous TV or film cartoon cat. His silent cartoons haven’t aged too well but he is looking good for being almost a hundred years old.

2. Figaro from Pinocchio

Do you remember Figaro from the Pinocchio movie? Gepetto’s lovable kitten looks as cute now as he did then and it surely deserving of a spin off movie with lucrative merchandising deals on poor quality plastic toys and pointless iPhone games.

3. Garfield

I am the only person who finds this tubby cat intensely annoying? The only reason I can’t ignore him is that I used to work beside a grown man who littered his desk with Garfield calendars and stuff, had a Garfield screensaver and tie and used to quote the famous cartoon cat on a daily basis. I think he might have been single. By the way, Garfield once held the world record for the most widely syndicated cartoon ever.

4. Hello Kitty

This cute Japanese cat has been making money since 1974. The Hello Kitty industry is worth $5 billion every year and she is the star of two different theme parks.

5. Hobbes from Calvin and Hobbes

This is an incredibly popular cartoon cat which has featured in 45 million books sold worldwide and is read in cartoon strips in 50 different countries.

6. “Puss in Boots” from the Shrek Movies

I was going to put the original Puss in Boots cat in here but I loved the Shrek version so much that he sneaked onto the list instead.

7. The Evil Cat Owned by Blofeld

Does this evil cat even have a name? It is now a bit of a cliché to have a baddy stroking a fluffy white cat and I think it started with Blofeld in the James Bond movies. If I am being honest this creepy feline kind of scares me. I wouldn’t have made a very good secret agent, would I?

8. Sylvester

Will he ever catch that annoying little bird? I don’t know about you but I used to root for Sylvester whenever this cartoon came on. He might be a clumsy, lisping, salivating foolish kind of famous cat but he has been making us laugh since 1945.

9. Tom from Tom and Jerry

You didn’t think that I was going to leave out this chap, did you? This is another cartoon cat which has been on the go since the 1940s. I must confess that I am a bit of a soppy fool and I prefer the episodes in which the ever popular cat and mouse are buddies fighting against a common enemy.

10. Bagpuss

This one takes me back. I just did some research and was astonished to find that only 13 episodes of this classic UK cartoon were ever made. It holds a special place on my childhood memories and if I look up a show on YouTube I might even feel a small tear run down my cheek. It’s funny what a beaten up old stuffed cat from 30 year old cartoons can do to you.