Massachusetts Has an Official State Cat

In 1979, the Boston Terrier was declared the official state dog of Massachusetts. The Boston Terrier is mighty cute, so one can see how it got the nod.

What about our feline friends, though? Is there an official state cat, too?

Why, of course there is. Can you guess what it is?

The official cat of Massachusetts is not a breed but rather a description of the cat's fur coloring.

According to StateSymbolsUSA.org, the official state cat of Massachusetts is the tabby cat.

"Massachusetts dedicated the tabby cat (Felis familiaris) as the official state cat in 1988, in response to the wishes of the schoolchildren of Massachusetts," according to the site.

Get our free mobile app

"Tabby cats have distinctive stripes that occur naturally in many breeds of cat (a feature in the domestic cat's distant ancestor, the African wildcat)," the site reports. "The tabby cat stripes often form an "M" above the eyebrows."

The site says, "The stripes can be muted or bold, there can be spots and swirls, or the stripes can appear in patches."

So do other New England states have official cats and dogs? Not many do.

New Hampshire has an official state dog, the Chinook, designated in 2009. The Maine Coon Cat has been the official state cat of Maine since 1985. No other New England state has official state cats or dogs. What's wrong with them?

National Cat Day is October 29, 2023, so there is still time for states to do what is right and establish an official state cat. The next International Cat Day is August 8, 2024.