If you’re an observant Disneyland visitor, you may notice some slightly unusual creatures roaming Disneyland…and I don’t mean Wookies or Green Army Men. In addition to the princesses, villains, pirates, and other characters, a family of cats also call Disneyland home.
No one knows exactly when the first cats arrived in Disneyland, but park historians note reports as early as 1955. In the mid-50s, when Imagineers began planning the Sleeping Beauty Castle Walkthrough, they discovered a whole cat kingdom inside the castle. At first, Disney wanted to arrange cast member adoptions for the cats, but the park’s persistent rodent problem sparked an alternative solution. Cast members set up hidden feeding stations around the property, and provided medical treatment to their feline friends when necessary.
Disney doesn’t talk much about the cats, just because they want visitors to leave them alone. Generally, the cats stay fairly hidden throughout the day, not venturing around the park much until crowds thin. But some tend to be more adventurous, exploring during the daytime near their feeding stations. So if you’d like to spot a cat, your best chances are in Frontierland, Critter Country, Grizzly Peak, or at the Disneyland Hotel. But for the most part, Disneyland’s crew of about 200 unofficial cast members keep to themselves, protecting visitors from the mice that don’t live in Toontown.
This is Francisco, one of Disneyland’s most famous and adventurous cats. Source: LA Times
If you’d like to learn more about the cats, check out their website and follow them on Twitter! (Note: these are unofficial and not monitored by Disney)