Cat Lover Patrick Moore

Sir Patrick Moore
Sir Patrick Moore. Photo by David Scanlan from Wikimedia Commons. Note: this picture is of Sir Patrick in very old age.
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I have to write a few words about Sir Patrick Moore. He was knighted in 2001. He might not be that well known in the United States or in countries other than England. He was a part of the fabric of life here in England. He was very English in his character. He wore a monocle, lived in a thatched cottage in Sussex and had a fast delivery when hosting his The Sky At Night television program.

He had no formal qualifications on astronomy but was considered by his peers as a first rate scientist even though he was a television presenter to most of us.

He wrote a book about cats. Yeh….. 🙂 I have discovered that one of my Christmas presents is this book. Great. When I get it I’ll do a follow up post. In the meantime I just want to say that he was one of us  – people who care about animals and who see them as having rights and as equals. He died aged 89 on 9 December 2012 at home. He was surrounded by his family and an important part of his family was Ptolemy a semi-longhaired black moggie. He was a cat lover and considered eccentric.

Patrick moore's cat Ptolemy
Patrick moore’s cat Ptolemy

Now, there is a nice connection. An eccentric man who loved cats. I don’t think he was eccentric. He just thought out of the box. He thought differently to the establishment. The establishment likes to brand people who think better and a bit differently as eccentric. It protects them. The establishment have to protect the status quo. Nothing must change because if it does they lose their power.

A true cat lover also hates hunting. They hate fox hunting in Britain. Mr Moore hated it. I hate it. He said he has…

“a deep contempt for people who go out to kill merely to amuse themselves.”

Of course we must have contempt for these people. They are idiots. Despite liking America, sport hunting is something that I personally hate about American society. I respect other people’s views but to hunt a cougar with dogs and then shoot it up a tree is unthinking, crass and crappy human behavior. And no one can argue any differently.

Patrick Moore also said..

“a catless house is a soulless house”

This echos Jean Cocteau who said (see cat quotes):

“I love cats because I enjoy my home; and little by little, they become its visible soul.”

He wasn’t a vegetarian but loved and supported animals. I’m like that but of course I am no where near as good or skilled as him. Although I am better at sports than he ever was.

Patrick Moore supported Cats Protection, a cat rescue organisation in Britain and gave his time and money to help rescue cats.

Basically he was quintessentially English; intelligent, and a free thinker. That sort of person is very likely to love cats because they have the intelligence and sensitivity to respect animals. He was not easy to get on with sometimes. Surprised? No. The behavior of a lot of people probably irritated him.

His fiancée, Lorna, was killed in a Second World War air raid. She was 20. He said that his..

“whole life ended that day…”

He never married. There was no one else for him except his beautiful cats. You were loved Patrick. May your spirit be in the sky at night amongst the stars.

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18 thoughts on “Cat Lover Patrick Moore”

  1. Sir Patrick Moore also supported Dr Hadwen Trust for humane research, he was a scientist who knew how wrong it is to torture animals in the name of science.
    He will be sadly missed by many.
    R.I.P

    Reply
  2. Hi Michael,

    He sounds like he was a wonderful person – someone I would have liked to meet and get to know.

    Some things I like most about a person are that they like cats or at least have a reverence for all sentient life. I like when someone is a master of his own thoughts and opinions. He isn’t affected by status quo or warn out and useless mainstream beliefs and ways. I like that.

    He’s not alone in being offended by the way most people think and behave. Or is it that they DON’T think. I’m grateful that I decided to reflect a lot over the years. It helps me step back and see the way things really are and aren’t. It helps me reconsider my attitudes and behaviors. Then I am able to dig deep into my soul for proper ethical guidance and adjust my outlook on life. It makes me a better person every year.

    I often find myself at odds with mainstream beliefs and I thank God for that! I give myself credit for being a willing participant in this sort of things, but I thank God for showering enough grace on me to compel me to do it.

    God forbid I should ever end up like the mainstream. It seems like such a waste of life and a crime as well. I’m not religious but I am spiritual and ethical. I’m extremely grateful for what my cats have taught me over the years.

    I’m with you and him on the hunting issue. I see no reason to hunt or even fish. It’s contemptible, especially when done for “sport”. Far too prevalent in too many countries – my USA included.

    This man was a good man. He made the earth a better place while he was here and will be missed.

    Glad you wrote about him.

    =^-^= Hairless Cat Girl =^-^=

    Reply
    • Thanks Liz. Well said. We are like Sir Patrick. He maybe had more talent etc. But at heart we are the same. We form our own opinions and live by our consciences and standards. Often these don’t fit in that well. I just like the fact that he liked cats. What I mean is liking cats equates with good and fair thinking. That sounds like a crazy cat person writing but I believe it.

      Sport hunting is so outdated. The English aristocracy hunted everything to extinction a hundred years ago. Horrible.

      Reply
  3. That’s very sad that Sir Patrick Moore lost his fiancée. I think it’s harder to lose a fiancée than a spouse. I knew someone who lost her husband to be shortly before their wedding when he was killed by a drunk driver. This was shortly before I lost my husband to a small airplane crash. I was engaged to my current husband while my friend was still struggling. She finally did get married, but it was over a decade later. She said that she shouldn’t be struggling so much, because I was actually married and seemed better able to carry on.

    But I really feel that it’s harder to lose the person you love before the wedding, because you have such hopes and dreams that are not realized. You long to become one with that person, and if that hope is taken away before it can be realized I can see how that would be devastating. It’s not like being a widow is a cake walk and I’m sure divorce is no picnic either. But of all of these tragedies, losing a fiancée would be the worst, I think. I am not surprised he never married after that.

    I often am privileged to work with elderly patience who remember WWII and share their memories with me. But nothing could compare to the experience of your own city being bombed. We were somewhat removed from the war over here. We didn’t even get involved until after the attack on Pearl Harbor. It must be amazing to be able to meet and talk with people in England who survived WWII. In America we call those people members of The Greatest Generation.

    Reply
    • Yes, I think losing Lorna was a massive blow to him. I think it ruined his life in one way. He managed because he was so clever and talented but I feel he bore the loss of Lorna all his life. He was honest and he said that his life ended that day. He meant that. How he carried and succeeded I don’t know. I do know. His cats helped him. He cared for a black and white bicolor before Ptolemy. He didn’t have purebred pedigree cats just moggies like most of us. They are all beautiful.

      Reply
    • Gosh that is something serious you have gone through. I’m sure you are very strong and you know and understand alot more than most because of it, but it must have been so hard – sorry to hear that. I’m sure a cat in any difficult circumstance would help a person, but like you, and after reading what you wrote about your friend, I have an idea of why he didn’t marry. It’s very sad indeed. Thanks for sharing anyway.

      Although I grew up in England for the most part I don’t remember Sir Patrick Moore but I am familiar with the kind of man he is and in the British sense too. It’s sad to hear about such a person after the fact. Sounds like an interesting book thats a lovely birthday present too!

      Reply

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