As French aristocrats—including Cardinal Richelieu and King Louis XV—began embracing cats as beloved companions, the furry creatures clawed their way back into human favor. From shipboard mousers saving sailors’ lives to postal office protectors, from Victorian “Old Maids” and Enlightenment intellectuals to the first official cat show at London’s Crystal Palace, we trace how our whiskered overlords went from pests to pets—and finally to internet icons!