Written by Helena Jackson
For someone of such national interests, Abraham Lincoln‘s hobbies were actually quite poorly documented.
Abraham Lincoln and Cats
One of the few specific references to Lincoln’s pastimes comes from his wife, Mary Todd. When asked what her husband’s hobbies were, she simply answered: “cats.” One of Lincoln’s friends, Caleb Carman, would go on to say that the former president could talk to cats for half an hour at a time. Lincoln would be rumored to have claimed that his cats were “…smarter than my whole cabinet! And furthermore [they don’t] talk back!”
Abraham Lincoln was said to have been gifted two kittens by his Secretary of State, William Seward, and the pair were named Tabby and Dixie. Lincoln doted on them, allegedly even feeding Tabby during one of the White House’s formal dinners. Mary was said to have told him afterward that this behavior was shameful, but Lincoln merely replied: “[if] the gold fork was good enough for former President James Buchanan, I think it is good enough for Tabby.”
Abraham Lincoln’s Other Hobbies
While no other pastimes are so explicitly mentioned, Lincoln is mentioned to have enjoyed reading, poetry writing, and just generally conversing with his family and peers. There is also, somewhat ominously, mentions of him enjoying plays, an activity that would obviously lead to his assassination.
Yet, in 1865, only weeks before his death, Lincoln continued to pour adoration onto felines, telling three stray kittens: “thank God you are cats, and can’t understand this terrible strife that is going on.” Before he left to another meeting, Lincoln ensured that the cats would be given plenty of milk and treated with kindness.