Ten purrfect songs about cats

At the risk of sounding like a cliché, I am going to say that things were different when I was a kid. Not necessarily better. Just different. For instance, we only had three channels on TV. And if you wanted to be able to hear your favorite song at any time, you had to ride your bike to the record store and buy a 45. But maybe in some ways, things were better.

I grew up in a mixed home. Mom was a Democrat and Dad was a Republican. We were allowed to talk to people from either side of the political spectrum. Of course, those days are long gone. Today, we prefer to stomp on anyone who does not share our opinion in the dust.

Don’t worry, I will not say another word about politics. Today, I am talking about cats and dogs.

Ten songs about cats that rock

You see, I love both cats and dogs, but I don’t think that is permissible anymore. I will stop to pet and play with any dog I see out on a walk, provided the dog and owner seem amenable. I will try to lure any cat, no matter how stray or feral it may look, near for some petting. I have had dogs and cats as pets my entire life and I am a big fan.

I initially intended to show that love by coming up with about twenty songs – ten each Fluffy and Fido – to show how dogs and cats have inspired some great modern music. But it became clear that there are just a lot more dog songs. There are more famous ones and more obscure ones. So I decided to split them up. And to start with the cats. They need love.

To be clear – these are songs ABOUT cats. Not about hep cats, or cool cats, or any other jazzy nickname involving the word itself. Squeeze’s “Cool For Cats” is not about felines. I’m not sure Al Stewart’s “Year of the Cat” is either, though I don’t really what that song has to do with cats even in a symbolic manner. As near as I can tell, it’s about The Maltese Falcon. No Nashville cats or cat scratch fever. No meow the jewels, as much as I may adore that concept.

No. It has to be a song about a cat. An actual cat. Except…

Plenty of songs (and this applies to dog songs as well) intentionally use double meanings when they mention cats. They make use of the ambiguity inherent in the image. So maybe it is in fact a real cat, but maybe it is also using that real cat as a symbol for something larger. You can ask your high school English teacher if you have questions about any of this. Seriously – I think she’d appreciate hearing from you.

I’ll just leave it like this: here are ten great songs about cats from the modern rock era. They cover a wide range of styles, and like the felines themselves, they can be hard to decipher. Some are downright divisive. That’s what I love about them. Dogs – and many of their songs – are easy. Not true for the kitties. They are wild. Sometimes they purr. Sometimes they gouge. You can never be sure. As we shall see…

“WALKIN’ MY CAT NAMED DOG” by Norma Tanega (1966)

“Me and my cat named Dog – Are walkin’ high against the fog – Singin’ the sun, singin’ the sun”

I suppose it is only fitting that our first song was written because Norma Tanega lived in a New York apartment that didn’t allow dogs. So she got a cat and named it Dog. Such is a cat’s life in a dog’s world. At least that’s how it used to be. Cats have made great strides since then. Regardless of the genesis, the carefree melody and quirky lyrics somehow seem suited for a feline who really doesn’t care what you may think of it. Fans of the TV show “What We Do in the Shadows” may recognize Tanega from her second most famous song, “You’re Dead.”

“LUCIFER SAM” by Pink Floyd (1967)

“Lucifer Sam – Siam cat – Always sitting by your side – Always by your side – That cat’s something I can’t explain.”

From the sadly short-lived Syd Barrett days. Barrett wrote it, sang it, and played guitar. He got plenty of help from Richard Wright’s multiple spacey keyboard sounds and riffs. Back when prog rock was really and truly prog. Cats are a perfect prog rock subject, don’t you think? They are so ancient that they appear futuristic. If that seems nonsensical to you, well, perhaps you haven’t been spending enough time with cats. And that’s just something I can’t explain.

“PHENOMENAL CAT” by The Kinks (1968)

“A long, long time ago – In the land of idiot boys – There lived a cat – A phenomenal cat – Who loved to wallow all day.”

From the truly phenomenal The Kinks Are the Village Green Preservation Society album. The nursery rhyme simplicity of the melody blends wonderfully with the tale of a magical flying cat who travels the world. Its lovely flute opening (really a mellotron) gives way to Ray Davies’ vocals, and later to brother Dave singing as the cat himself.

Many reviewers have opined that Ray is poking gentle fun at the very type of psychedelia Syd Barrett was going for with Pink Floyd, and I would assume that to be the case. Ray could be a cheeky bastard at times. Just like most cats I’ve known.

”STRAY CAT STRUT” by The Stray Cats (1981)

“Black and orange stray cat sittin’ on a fence – Ain’t got enough dough to pay the rent – I’m flat broke but I don’t care – I strut right by with my tail in the air”

Maybe the definitive cat song of them all. Brian Setzer wasn’t totally beholden to neo-swing at this point, but the influence of old-fashioned blues-based rock were obvious. The simple orchestration had Setzer playing guitar, Lee Rocker on double bass, and James McDowell (AKA Slim Jim Phantom) keeping time on the drums. Dave Edmunds produced.

Along with “Bad Company” by Bad Company from the album Bad Company, this is one of the rare triples in rock history – song, artist, and album all having the same name (if you forget about the “strut” part for a moment.)

“MACEO” by Jane’s Addiction (1988 – sort of)

“My cat’s name is Maceo – He’s a little man in a cat’s body”

It was scheduled to be on the band’s debut album Nothing’s Sacred. But it was pulled, apparently because it was too much of a pop song. And yet “Jane Says” made the cut. I like “Jane Says” and it was a big hit, but there’s no way “Maceo” is more pop than “Jane.” Not with Perry Farrell’s high-pitched, shrieking, vaguely tuneless vocals. He kind of sounds like a cat. A cat singing over a cool groove supplied by drummer Stephen Perkins and Dave Navarro’s fuzzy guitar.

It finally showed up on the 1997 Kettle Whistle album, with help from – that’s right – Maceo Parker, the jazz sax player Maceo the cat was named for. (FYI – Farrell can sing about dogs too, as he did in Porno for Pyro’s “Dogs Rule the Night.”)

“TOMMY THE CAT” by Primus (1991)

“Well, I remember it as though it were a meal ago – Said Tommy the Cat as he reeled back to clear whatever foreign matter – May have nestled its way into his mighty throat”

Thus begins the epic story of Tommy – the most virile of cats - and the striking feline who approached him one day in O’Malley’s Alley. Awesome funk from Les Claypool’s bass and Larry LaLonde’s swirling guitar. And, though Claypool does the standard singing, guest vocalist Tom Waits provides the voice of the title character. Waits, not surprisingly, makes a very compelling cat.

“CLEOPATRA’S CAT” by Spin Doctors (1992)

“Cleopatra’s favorite cat – Got his hands on Caesar’s spats – The heat was on as you could see – So he front ‘em to Mark Antony – Said ‘my girlfriend’s cat is smarter than me”

And now we come to the cattiest cat song of them all. Because I must say, this song was reviled back in 1992 – the way black cats were thought to be messengers from the devil. The first single released from the follow-up to Spin Doctors hit debut album sounded little like “Two Princes.” It was scat jazz with impenetrable lyrics.

Lead singer Chris Barron confirmed it was a mistake to release this song at this time some thirty years later. A couple of years ago, Rolling Stone Australia ranked it as the 30th most egregious mistake in rock music history. But you know what? I kind of dig the song. I liked it in the day, and I still like it. What could be more catlike than that? Reviled, loved, silly, cool – often all at the same time.

“FAT CAT KEEPS GETTING FATTER” by Squirrel Nut Zippers (1998)

“Every dog will have its day – That’s what people used to say – Now and then, that’s not the case – There’s a fat cat ‘round this place”

From the last general-purpose SNZ album with the original lineup (I’m excluding their Christmas album from later in ’98). This one features the sultry delivery of Katharine Whalen, and some awesome rolling drums from Chris Phillips. Cornet player Je Widenhouse carries most of the energy between the minimal verses.

Granted, this one may not be about any cat in particular, and may veer more into that symbolic territory that I said I would eschew at the outset. But if you have ever had a “fat cat that keeps getting fatter,” you know there is a lot of literal truth in the song. Besides, it’s undeniably cool, just like cats are.

“PLEA FROM A CAT NAMED VIRTUTE” by Weakerthans (2003)

“Why don’t you ever want to play – I’m tired of this piece of string – You sleep as much as I do now – And you don’t eat much of anything”

Unlike the other songs on this list, this is not a song about a cat. This is a song sung from the cat’s POV. And, though it has an undeniable fresh, pop punk groove, it is also the absolute saddest song on the list. The Canadien band Weakerthans launched this ambitious song cycle to examine issues surrounding grief and mental health.

This song, sung by a desperate cat trying to get its owner out of a deep depression, is amazingly poignant, despite his offer to cater a lunch for friends with “all the birds that I can kill” and his threat to bite the owner’s hand if the depression drags on much longer. Cats – ever the problem solvers.

“NINO” by the Linda Lindas (2022)

“I have a cat – His name is Nino – He’s a savage cat – Killer of mice and rats"

Beth Salazar has a cat. She wrote a song about him. The best new rock band in the country isn’t writing songs about dogs. We’ve come a long way from Norma Tanega’s cat named “Dog.”

Next time, the dogs will get their day.

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