Straight from the CAT-alogue!

May 14, 2019 1:07 PM

The Library of Congress has released a set of free to use cat images selected by LOC staff experts.
posted by vespabelle (20 comments total)

Tag yourself: this is me.
posted by Fizz at 1:12 PM on May 14, 2019 [7 favorites]

And they have several other Free to Use collections including Not an Ostrich.
posted by larrybob at 1:16 PM on May 14, 2019 [4 favorites]

Wow, these are great! Hot take favorites: the series of still frames showing feline locomotion, the fish-catching carousel cat, and "Herman and Vermin."
posted by The Underpants Monster at 1:24 PM on May 14, 2019 [2 favorites]

best one.
posted by Rev. Syung Myung Me at 2:15 PM on May 14, 2019 [7 favorites]

That's a real Jazz cat, Rev!
posted by fings at 2:20 PM on May 14, 2019 [5 favorites]

I would like to dress up as this cat dressed up as a Viking for Halloween this year.
posted by spamandkimchi at 2:46 PM on May 14, 2019 [5 favorites]

I'm rather taken by the one with Calvin Coolidge, who doesn't look anything like I had imagined him.
posted by Fuchsoid at 2:54 PM on May 14, 2019 [1 favorite]

spamandkimchi, all you need is one of these cat head masks and a Viking costume.
posted by fings at 3:05 PM on May 14, 2019 [2 favorites]

I would like to dress up as this cat dressed up as a Viking for Halloween this year.

Oh Brunnhilde, you're so lovely.
Yes, I know it, I can't help it.
posted by Nerd of the North at 3:19 PM on May 14, 2019 [1 favorite]

I have no idea how the LOC got the cats wedged into their scanners, or why.

how, literally? my team :)
posted by numaner at 3:41 PM on May 14, 2019 [14 favorites]

Tag yourself: this is me.

c'est moi but also that one cat that's confused by all the white guys playing jazz
posted by nightrecordings at 3:52 PM on May 14, 2019 [2 favorites]

I can't tell if the one with the doll is terrifying or sweet.
posted by doctornemo at 5:23 PM on May 14, 2019

My favorite.
posted by doctornemo at 5:23 PM on May 14, 2019 [3 favorites]

A professor I once knew liked to say that back in the day, if you wanted to see a picture of a strange cat, you would have to keep an eye on the advertisements in major cities by getting their newspapers delivered to you in order to see if and when any cat conventions were taking place. To solve this problem, we invented the Internet for its true purpose: to look at pictures of cats that we otherwise do not know. Thank you for catching up, LoC.

doctornemo, the subject heading on that one is classic: Animals in human situations--1890-1900
posted by sockermom at 5:25 PM on May 14, 2019 [4 favorites]

The caption says they're friends, but I'm not so sure.
posted by rhizome at 6:47 PM on May 14, 2019 [2 favorites]

I am pretty sure all of these (given that they are in the open subset of the catalog) would eventually show up here (emphasis on eventually).
posted by metasunday at 7:18 PM on May 14, 2019

does anyone read the posts down here?
posted by Multicellular Exothermic at 8:18 PM on May 14, 2019 [1 favorite]

Tag yourself

I'm visibly annoyed at being groomed white-and-tabby kitten.

I'm rather taken by the one with Calvin Coolidge, who doesn't look anything like I had imagined him.

The caption is a little misleading: that's not Coolidge, that's Benjamin Fink, the Navy Department guard who found and returned Coolidge's cat Tiger to the White House.

I will say though that (a) Tiger looks like a good boy, and (b) Fink clearly knows how to hold a cat, unlike the Harper's May lady's awful double dangle.
posted by We had a deal, Kyle at 8:46 PM on May 14, 2019 [4 favorites]

Tag yourself:
Pretty sure I'm the armadillo cat at the costume event.
posted by The Underpants Monster at 12:45 AM on May 15, 2019

best one.

They are all best; now go open a can of food!
posted by GenjiandProust at 3:30 AM on May 15, 2019 [3 favorites]