32 Fabulous Vintage Portraits of Classic Actresses Posing With Their Beloved Cats

The special kinship between cats and their lady owners goes deep into the annals of history — back to the days when oil paintings documented life, or even deeper, to the ancient days when sacred felines prowled about Egypt.

Cats are smart and adorable creatures, but their habits and behavior are often mysterious to us. Despite all this we have unconditional love for cats, no matter what kind of mischief they get up to, we always find a way to forgive them. Their rude and obnoxious behavior is what makes them so loved

These furry felines have also captivated the hearts of famous actresses. Some Hollywood studios also softened the stars of the Golden Age by posing them with cats. Here, below is a collection of classic stars posing with their beloved cats.

Helen Chandler was photographed at home with her cat, whom she named Blue Bell, in June 1933. (Photo: Courtesy Everett Collection)

In a photo from 1934, The Maltese Falcon actress Gladys George hugs her tortoiseshell cat, whom she named Monkie. (Photo: Everett Collection)

Betty Grable wore her pet cat Whitney around her neck like a fur scarf in 1935. The cat then sniffed her hair. (Photo: Courtesy Everett Collection)

The silent film star Mary Philbin posing in 1935. (Photo: Hulton Archive/Getty Images)

In 1935, actress Jean Parker posed for this studio portrait. (Photo: Hulton Archive/Getty Images)

Lynn Merrick and hers hang out in a cornfield in the early forties. (Photo: Courtesy Everett Collection)

From the forties, Lauren Bacall poses with two black cats. (Photo: REX USA/C.Everett)

In 1944, the actress and dancer Vera Ellen laid out on the beach alongside a black cat. As one does. (Photo: Mondadori/Getty Images)

Grace Kelly In 1948, the Hollywood actress was photographed clutching a kitten while working as a part-time model, some eight years before she would become the Princess of Monaco. (Photo: Corbis)

The English actress Josephine Griffin having a milk-off alongside a cat. (Photo: Rights Managed/Getty Images)

In February, 1953, the singer and actress Eartha Kitt (who would later play Catwoman on television in 1967) was photographed checking her makeup with her cat, Jinx, lounging on her vanity table. It’s reported that Jinx preferred to stick around Eartha’s dressing room even while she was performing onstage. (Photo: Corbis)

Around 1954, the French actress Françoise Arnoul who gained fame for starring in sex melodramas, posed for yet another sultry photo. This time, with a startled-looking white Persian in tow. (Photo: Hulton Archive/Getty Images)

The British actress Jean Simmons hangs out on set with a Siamese in 1954. (Photo: Baron/Corbis)

In 1957, British-born actress Joan Collins lounged on a boat that came with its own kitten. (Photo: Hulton Archive/Getty Images)

One can only guess why the Siamese in the actress Kay Kendall’s arm was named Pyewacket, a reference to a witch’s spirit. But the name is actually popular for the Siamese variety, thanks to the film Bell, Book, and Candle released in 1958, which featured a feline of the same name. (Photo: REX USA/Associated Newspapers/Rex Expand Photo)

In 1959, the Hollywood actress Kim Novak gives her Siamese a hug at home. (Photo: Courtesy Everett Collection)

Catherine Deneuve and Françoise Dorléac, in their matching stripes, smothered a feline with kisses in an outdoor portrait series from 1960. (Photo: Globe Photo)

Vivien Leigh, a noted cat lover, carried one over her shoulder in June, 1960. Observe the studded collar. (Photo: Mirrorpix/Courtesy Everett Collection)

While returning to Paris from a trip to Russia in 1961, Elizabeth Taylor proved herself capable of simultaneously signing an autograph and stroking the nape of a mysterious cat. (Photo: Henri Bureau/Corbis)

In a photo from 1961, the Italian actress Virna Lisi pretended to kiss a kitten. (Photo: Mondadori/Getty Images)

Here, in 1963, June Lockhart was photographed blow-drying George, her cat. (Photo: Courtesy Everett Collection)

In 1964, Swedish actress Ann-Margret framed her face with a Siamese kitten to promote her upcoming film, Kitten With a Whip. Note: The film was a crime drama and did not have anything to do with actual kittens. (Photo: Universal Pictures/Everett Collection)

The Italian actress Monica Vitti also often carried a cat in her arms while shooting the film High Infidelity. (Photo: MONDADORI PORTFOLIO/Everett Collection)

On September 12, 1965, Mia Farrow was photographed with her cat companion Ref. (Photo: Starstock/Photoshot/Everett Collection)

Taken in 1966, the photo shows the Swedish actress-model Anita Ekberg looking a bit tentative. (Photo: Pierluigi\Mondadori\Everett Collection)

The Swedish actress Ewa Aulin posed with a minuscule feline named Hurricane in July 1968. (Photo: Courtesy Everett Collection Expand Photo)

The English actress Suzy Kendall holds a pair of kittens on the set of Up the Junction, directed by Peter Collinson, in 1968. (Photo: Silver Screen Collection/Getty Images)

In this photo from 1969, it’s unclear who looks more distressed, the socialite Zsa Zsa Gabor or that cat. (Photo: REX USA/Everett Collection)

A shoot from the seventies titled “Dolly Parton and Friend.” (Photo: REX USA/CSU Archv/Everett)

Here, a lesson in picking up a cat with one hand from the seventies-era Italian television presenter and actress Gabriella Farinon. (Photo: MONDADORI PORTFOLIO/Mario Notarangelo/Everett Collection Expand Photo)

Those Italians have a way with cats. Here, famed ties singer Ombretta Colli with her pet. (Photo: MONDADORI PORTFOLIO/Angelo Deligio/Everett Collection)

The French actress-singer Brigitte Bardot turned animal-rights activist cuddled with a tiger on a trip to Abidjan, Côte d'Ivoire, in 1976. (Photo: Miroslav Brozek/Corbis)