Lecture: Purr-fect Pals: The Rise of Pet Cats in Modern Britain
- Date: Tuesday 25 February 2025, 17:30 – 19:00
- Location: Off-campus
- Type: Seminars and lectures
- Cost: Free. Registration required.
Professor Jane Hamlett presents the School of History's Katrina Honeyman Memorial Lecture.
This is a free public talk in memory of Katrina Honeyman, who was Professor of Social and Economic History and an esteemed and beloved colleague in the School of History, University of Leeds for many years. Professor Honeyman was a distinguished historian of women, industrialisation and business history, as well as an active mentor to women, postgraduates and early career scholars within the School.
About the lecture
In 2024 there were approximately 12.5 million pet cats in the UK. Cats vie with dogs for the role of Britain’s top pet, and are valued by their owners for their affection and independence. Around two hundred years ago, cats had a different profile: kept for their mousing abilities but often viewed with suspicion.
This talk will explore the ascent of cats in British pet culture. How and why did cats become popular? What are the cat qualities that have been particularly prized? More broadly, we will consider why historians have recently begun to pay more attention to animals: why does the agency of animals in the past matter, and how can that change how we understand human society and culture?
About the speaker
Jane Hamlett is a Professor of Modern British History at Royal Holloway, University of London. Her research interests focus on material and visual culture in modern Britain and the home, family and domestic life. With Professor Julie Marie Strange (Durham University) she recently led the AHRC-funded Pets and Family Life Project, and the book they wrote together, Pet Revolution: The Making of Animals in Modern British Life, was published by Reaktion in 2023.
How to attend
The lecture will take place in Room 700 (first floor), Leeds Central Library, Calverley St, LS1 3AB.
Entry is free, but registration is required. Click here to register your place on Eventbrite.
Image credit
An early twentieth-century postcard showing pet kittens. Image courtesy Jane Hamlett; cropped from the original.