Wednesday 13 March 2013


The original Grumpy Cat! Meet the pre-Internet pets who deserve a second shot at online fame with their adorable antics (including one with fixed angry expression)

    Decades before the invention of the Internet, at a time when no one knew the words 'meme' or 'viral,' pets were melting their owners’ hearts with their cuteness without ever getting a shot at worldwide fame.
Dog and cat owners have been documenting the antics of their furry companions as far back the invention of the first cameras.
However, without YouTube, Instagram or Facebook, only a few relatives and friends got to enjoy the photographs depicting Mitzy sitting down to a game of chess, or Rover behind the wheel of a toy car.
Black-and-white photos from the 1920s, 30s and 50s that surely would have gone viral today - with hilarious memes on Reddit, YouTube videos and segments on Good Morning America - have faded into obscurity, languishing on a roll of film or collecting dust in a long-forgotten album.
But some heart-melting and side-splitting images of pets from decades past are now getting a second chance at Internet fame after being digitally archived.
More than 30 years before Tardar Sauce the Grumpy Cat took the Internet by storm, becoming a household name thanks to her comically stern facial expression, a pet owner immortalized an equally angry kitty perched next to a cake to mark her 27th birthday.
Other gems from a collection of pet photos from decades past include a hilarious image of a kitten wearing headphones to listen to a radio program back in 1926.
Another image taken in 1933, which would have been Internet gold had it been uploaded onto Instagram nowadays, shows a cat standing next to a clothes line hung with white mice inside socks.
Another shot from the 1930s that would have charmed web users the world over depicts a furry cat playing checkers with a lamb as a bantam watches over the game from the sidelines.
Grumpy birthday: A 27-year-old cat doesn't look too happy celebrating her birthday on August 22, 1977
Grumpy birthday: A 27-year-old cat doesn't look too happy celebrating her birthday on August 22, 1977
Grumpy
Grumpy
Gone viral: More than three decades after the grumpy birthday photo, Tardar Sauce the cat took the Internet by storm thanks to her permanently angry facial expression 
Steady there: Tim the cat is having difficulty in holding that pose requested of Laddie the dog because there is a mouse lurking nearby in this 1920s gem
Steady there: Tim the cat is having difficulty in holding that pose requested of Laddie the dog because there is a mouse lurking nearby in this 1920s gem
Three's company: This little kitten looks quite comfortable flanked by a pair of puppies
Three's company: This little kitten looks quite comfortable flanked by a pair of puppies
Chatty cat: A feline lying in bed with an old-timey rotary phone
Chatty cat: A feline lying in bed with an old-timey rotary phone
Close-up of a cat playing with a Christmas ornament
an 8 month old kitten hit the bottle first thing every morning to lap up the cream which filled the depression in the bottle top
Troublemakers: A mischievous kitten is playing with a Christmas ornament, left, while an eight-month-old feline is snacking on some milk from the top of a bottle cap on the right 
Cat-erwauling: Money the music-loving feline lends vocal accompaniment to his 15-year-old owner in Worcester Park, England, in 1959
Cat-erwauling: Money the music-loving feline lends vocal accompaniment to his 15-year-old owner in Worcester Park, England, in 1959
Busy kitty: Tabby cat joined the feminist movement by launching a career as a typist in late 1920s
Modern kitty: Tabby cat joined the feminist movement by launching a career as a typist in late 1920s
Fearless swimmer: A two-and-a-half-month-old kitten plunged into a pool in Santa Monica, California, and dog-paddled the 40 feet across the tank with her 10-year-old owner in 1956
Fearless swimmer: A two-and-a-half-month-old kitten plunged into a pool in Santa Monica, California, and dog-paddled the 40 feet across the tank with her 10-year-old owner in 1956
Playmate: A Little girl playing house with her pooch serving as subject of her attention
Playmate: A Little girl playing house with her pooch serving as subject of her attention
Two kittens playing on railing
Karl Mitchell takes Mitten the Kitten, his 1 1/2 year-old black cat, for a ride. Mitten, perched on the handlebars, has ridden more than 1,000 miles with Karl
Daredevils: A pair of kitties are playing on a railing, left, while Mitten the black cat takes a ride on the handlebars of his owner Karl Mitchell's motorcycle, right 
Say, Cheese! Cat playing with a camera in a garden
Say, Cheese! Cat playing with a camera in a garden
Strange bedfellows: Fluffens, a four-year-old Persian and Angora mix, relaxes while a mother white mouse and her brood of seven use her for a playground in 1955
Strange bedfellows: Fluffens, a four-year-old Persian and Angora mix, relaxes while a mother white mouse and her brood of seven use her for a playground in 1955
Hello, kitty! Ginger the cat on the phone in UK
Hello, kitty! Ginger the cat using an old-fashioned phone in the UK
Fluffy listener: Tibby the cat tunes into a radio program wearing headphones on its ears in 1926
Fluffy listener: Tibby the cat tunes into a radio program wearing headphones on its ears in 1926
Time for a nap: A cat yawns while it sits on a wall in this 1930 photo
Time for a nap: A cat yawns while it sits on a wall in this 1930 photo
Playful puss: A Persian kitten on the floor, having fun with some yarn in 1950 image
Playful puss: A Persian kitten on the floor, having fun with some yarn in 1950 image
Fancy feline: Mrs. Oglethorpe, a breeder of blue Persian cats, shows off one of her prize-winners named Pierrot of the Court in Wimbledon, UK, in 1935
Fancy feline: Mrs. Oglethorpe, a breeder of blue Persian cats, shows off one of her prize-winners named Pierrot of the Court in Wimbledon, UK, in 1935
Purebred: Twinlight Skipper Whipper, one of the score of felines entered in the 36th Annual Championship Cat Show of the Atlantic Cat Club in 1938
Purebred: Twinlight Skipper Whipper, one of the score of felines entered in the 36th Annual Championship Cat Show of the Atlantic Cat Club in 1938
A tabby cat with a bandage wrapped around it's head, the result of a collision with a car in 1950
Tige peers inside as he tries to focus up for a shot in 1956
Curious cats: A tabby cat on the left banged up his head in a 1950 car crash; Tige the curious kitty on the right peers inside a camera as he tries to focus up for a shot 
Puppy love: Hans, a dachshund puppy, kisses a kitty while sitting in a teapot in this adorable 1926 image
Puppy love: Hans, a dachshund puppy, kisses a kitty while sitting in a teapot in this adorable 1926 image


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