In case you missed it, yesterday was a very important (and very adorable) holiday: #MuseumCats Day. What’s a museum cat, you ask? Well, according to participants like The Andy Warhol Museum, The Museum of Modern Art, and The National Portrait Gallery, a museum cat can be many things. From an ancient mummified head to a smiling sculpture to an international celebrity appearing on the lunchboxes of little girls everywhere, museum cats prove kitties were cool eons before their online heyday. Take that, Grumpy Cat.
Museum cats also serve as a reminder that many of our favorite artists drew inspiration from their four-legged friends. From Warhol’s amusingly named artist book 25 Cats Name Sam and One Blue Pussy to a Kandinsky kitten you may not have known existed, the cat canon is indeed plentiful.