Purr-fect Pals: The Rise of Pet Cats in Modern Britain

In 2024 there were approximately 12.5 million pet cats in the UK. Cats vie with dogs for the role of Britain’s top pet, and are valued by their owners for their affection and independence. Around two hundred years ago, cats had a different profile: kept for their mousing abilities but often viewed with suspicion.

This talk will explore the ascent of cats in British pet culture. How and why did cats become popular? What are the cat qualities that have been particularly prized? More broadly, we will consider why historians have recently begun to pay more attention to animals: why does the agency of animals in the past matter, and how can that change how we understand human society and culture?

Jane Hamlett is a Professor of Modern British History at Royal Holloway, University of London. Her research interests focus on material and visual culture in modern Britain and the home, family and domestic life. With Professor Julie Marie Strange (Durham University) she recently led the AHRC-funded Pets and Family Life Project, and the book they wrote together, , was published by Reaktion in 2023.

The lecture will take place in Room 700 (first floor), Leeds Central Library, Calverley St, LS1 3AB.

This is a free public talk in memory of Katrina Honeyman, who was Professor of Social and Economic History and an esteemed and beloved colleague in the School of History, University of Leeds for many years. Professor Honeyman was a distinguished historian of women, industrialisation and business history, as well as an active mentor to women, postgraduates and early career scholars within the School.

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Image credit

An early twentieth-century postcard showing pet kittens. Image courtesy Jane Hamlett; cropped from the original.

Host or Publisher School of History