The Hilarious History of Cats Disrupting Sporting Events

Last year a small, black cat made headlines at the beginning of Spanish Football Season when he wandered onto the field immediately after the beginning of the Barcelona vs. Elche match at the Camp Nou stadium in Barcelona, Spain. All eyes went to this amusing and frisky kitty as onlookers and athletes alike were amused watching stadium staff chase him relentlessly for what seemed like a great length of time.

The game's commentator remarked, "We don’t have a rat catcher, we need a cat catcher!" The amusing black kitty's claim to fame was finally over as the crowd roared with applause at his removal. Depending on your perspective, the frisky black cat was bad luck for Elche and good luck for Barcelona, since Barcelona won 3 to 0 that day!

The hilarious story is not actually one of a kind. It turns out that throughout history, cats have a longstanding reputation for disrupting important sporting events! Here are our NINE favorite stories over the years.

1. February 7, 2012

This spunky cat ran on the pitch during the first half of the Liverpool-Tottenham English Premier League soccer game. Kitty is pictured here, stopped by Tottenham goalie Brad Friedel and having a quick break outside of the goalie box before seeing his way out.

2. Donny the Dog and the Cat

This stray cat decided to disrupt Israeli basketball game between Maccabi Tel Aviv and Bnei Hasharon at the beginning of a match before the Maccabi's Mascot, Donny the Dog, chased him away (and probably absolutely terrified him from ever coming back!)

3. July 14, 1984

The Red Sox at Mariners, this small grey kitten puts up one heck of a fight when he bit the poor guy stuck wrangling the little distraction.

4. October 29, 2009

At the WTA Tennis Championships, in Doha, Qatar a cat disrupts a match between Venus and Serena Williams by running across the court.

5. April 21, 2009

During the fourth inning of a thrilling baseball game between the Chicago Cubs and the Cincinnati Reds at Wrigley Field in Chicago, a security guard chased down this frisky kitty.

6. May 1, 2016

Hockey players are notoriously superstitious so you can imagine what sort of omen a black cat appeared to be as it sprinted onto the ice and crossed directly in front of the home bench inside SAP Center before the San Jose Sharks took on the Nashville Predators in Game 1 of their 2nd round of the Stanley Cup Playoffs. After the Sharks WON the game, they named the kitty Jo PAW-velski, in honor of the team’s captain Joe Pavelski

7. April 13, 2009

Making his debut at the newly built Citi Field during the Mets home season opener, this orange tabby cat momentarily stole the show!

8. The Chicago Cubs and the Curse of the Black Cat

The legend-packed 1960 Chicago Cubs team appeared to be a guarantee that they would beat the Mets and return to the World Series... that is until September 9th, 1969 when a now very famous black cat ran onto the field at Shea Stadium, and left with a reputation for cursing the Cubs.

9. May 12, 2016

During the fourth inning of a game between the St. Louis Cardinals vs. Los Angeles Angels, an adorable orange cat sprinted out onto the field then ran like crazy through the crowd before an Angels fan finally caught him. Don't worry, the kitty made it safely to a shelter nearby!