Every month (or so) Belvedere and I will be posting Niner Lists, showcasing our nine top picks in various categories. 

This month it’s the Top Nine Cats on Film.  Most of them are orange. 

Watch them on Clowder’s channel 

Featuring heroic cosmonaut Jonesy the orange tom co-pilot of the spaceship Nostromo alongside his butler Ripley (Sigourney Weaver).

The Long Goodbye (1973)

A neo-noir Chandler thriller starring  Morris,  a seasoned feline thesp (orange) as the hardbitten but honourable owner of hardbitten but honourable gumshoe Philip Marlowe.

Men in Black (1997) 

Comedy SF with a starring role for Orion (orange and white),  Guardian of the Galaxy, worn on his collar, that will save the universe.

Breakfast at Tiffany's (1961) 

Stylish adaptation of Truman Capote's novella, featuring a cat named Cat (played by Orangey, a red tabby), with Audrey Hepburn in support as working girl Holly Golightly. 

Inside Llewyn Davis (2013) 

Enigmatic meditation on the cruel serendipity of fame, starring three cats (or are they the same one?) and a feckless folk singer (Oscar Isaac). Purrs with metaphor. The lead cat is called Ulysses. This is the Coen Brothers after all. “The film doesn’t really have a plot, That concerned us at one point; that’s why we threw the cat in.” ( Joel Coen).

My Neighbor Totoro (1988)  

Absolute charmer from Studio Ghibli, only animated film on the list, starring a magical cat-shaped bus or possibly bus- shaped cat, which appears when summoned by the benevolent spirit Totoro. Perfect.

The Matrix (1999) 

Dystopian bafflement from the Wachowski Siblings, pulling at the threads of the very fabric of our universe. A brief yet compelling cameo from an unnamed digital cat (not orange) gives the game away. 

Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone  (2001) 

First of the Potter movies, recounting the life and adventures of Mrs Norris chatelaine of Hogwarts School for Young Wizards, and her slavish butler Argus Filch. The role was a job-share between five Maine Coon stars: Tommy, Alanis, Cornelius, Maximus and Pebbles. 

Diamonds are Forever  (1971) 

Seventh film of the Bond franchise and last appearance for the truly iconic white cat served by monstrous supervillain  Ernst Stavros Blofeld. The cat actor was a Turkish Angora named Solomon, who also appeared in  From Russia with Love (1963), Thunderball (1965) and You Only Live Twice (1967). He was by far the best Bond.