20 Vintage Cat Photos That Capture Humanity's Long-Standing Love of Felines

Ely Bulnes • Writer and Editor

Apr 27, 2025 9:00 PM EDT

When we reflect on man's long-standing love of felines, our minds tend to go primarily to the Ancient Egyptians. I mean, their love for cats went as far as literal worship. Evidence of this can be found all over the excavated dig sites across the sands of Egypt. For example, several sarcophagi containing mummified cats were found in an 4000 year old tomb in the village of Saqqara along with 100 wooden statues of cats. All of this for the cat goddess Bastet.

While evidence of humanity's love of cats can be found all over the world, there is no better proof than pictures. Of course, photography was not invented until the the nineteenth century, but as soon as this new technology hit the scene, humans were quick to capture the likeness of their favorite furry creatures. Whether you're a cat lover, or you're interested in all things old-school, check out these adorable vintage cat pictures that prove that cats and humans are inseparable.

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via ittens and Cats: A First Reader (1911)
While many of these are just personal snapshots of peoples' feline friends, some of these posed and costumed shots have a lot of meme potential.
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via ittens and Cats: A First Reader (1911)
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If you took a person from the early 1900s and brought them to 2025, they would be shocked by a lot of the new technology. However, even they wouldn't be surprised by how humanity is united through cat memes.
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