
In 2006, Morris was depicted as adopting a kitten, Li'l Mo, from a Los Angeles animal shelter, representing the first adoptee in a campaign known as Morris' Million Cat Rescue. He was quoted at the 1993 "end of year" edition of People magazine which noted deaths of 1993 to which he quoted a simple "Meow" in honor of the death of his friend, fellow advertising mascot, the dog Spuds MacKenzie. To this end, he has "authored" three books: The Morris Approach, The Morris Method and The Morris Prescription. Morris also appears as a "spokescat" promoting responsible pet ownership, pet health and pet adoptions through animal shelters.

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He debuted in the Robert Altman film The Long Goodbye with Elliott Gould, and starred in the movie Shamus with Burt Reynolds and Dyan Cannon in 1973. Morris has appeared in other media over the years. Morris the Cat wants you to "Paw it Forward" | But I want a pony!!.

The current Morris lives in Los Angeles with his handler, Rose Ordile. All cats to play Morris have been rescues, either from an animal shelter or a cat rescue.
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The original Morris was discovered in 1968, at the Hinsdale Humane Society, a Chicago-area animal shelter, by professional animal handler Bob Martwick. Three different cats have played Morris the Cat. Every can of 9Lives features Morris' "signature". Martwick is survived by two sons, George and Richard a brother, Edward and a sister, Winnie Kinas.Morris the Cat (voiced by John Erwin) is the advertising mascot for 9Lives brand cat food, appearing on its packaging and in many of its television commercials.ġ978 9 Lives Morris the Cat Commercial - If you don't give Morris the Finicky Cat what he wants, he's going to reserve the dungeon for yourself! But he can't resist that 9 Lives Savory Stew! It's fit for a king! From 1978.Ī large orange tabby tomcat, he is "the world's most finicky cat", eating only 9Lives, and making this preference clear with humorously sardonic voice-over comments when offered other brands. “The inside of a cardboard box,” Martwick once told The Times, “is what he loves best.” The haughty “spokescat” had the poshest carriers but retained one surprising plebeian preference. The second Morris also went on the road, flying first class and staying at top hotels, including the Beverly Hills Hotel. By then Martwick had given up his kennel business and worked on salary for Star-Kist, the official owner of Morris II.


Morris the Cat, with his sidekick Martwick either beside him or just off-camera, also appeared on “Good Morning America,” “The Oprah Winfrey Show,” in a Burt Reynolds movie and on his own poster, captioned “You can never be too finicky or too rich.”Īfter Morris I died at the age of 19, Martwick buried him in his backyard and set out with Morris II, who had been found in a shelter in Massachusetts. He was featured on the television show “Lifestyles of the Rich and Famous” and, as the assumed model for the cartoon cat Garfield, appeared at cat shows in the company of Garfield creator Jim Davis. That Morris, with an actor’s voice-over adding to the disdainful looks he provided when he was called to dinner on televisions across the country, made 58 commercials between 1969 and his death in 1978, did two books and traveled about 200,000 miles annually making personal appearances throughout the United States and Canada. “The art director said, ‘This is the Clark Gable of cats.’ ” And then Morris just sat back,” Martwick said in 1995, years after the original Morris died. and he walked right up to the art director, the big cheese, and bumped him in the head.
