Napoleon Was Afraid of Cats: The Conqueror Felled by a Kitten

A small but telling detail about French emperor Napoleon Bonaparte, the military genius who led armies across Europe: he was afraid of cats. The fear is well documented by his valets and many contemporaries. Whenever a cat appeared suddenly from a shadow, hissed, or simply stared at him with round eyes, he would become unsettled — sometimes even freeze. Historians speculate it may trace back to a childhood fright. When Napoleon married Josephine in 1803, her daughter Hortense brought a Persian cat named Moustache into the household. Napoleon's relationship with the cat was uneven — he was nervous when the cat was present, and missed it when it was not. Perhaps the saying should be 'invincible in battle, but not against a cat.'