When Anne went into hiding on 6 July 1942, Moortje the cat had to stay behind with her neighbours at Merwedeplein. Anne would meet four other cats during the more than two years she spent in hiding, but she still thought back to Moortje regularly. Below is a list of all the cats.

Moortje

Anne first reported the existence of Moortje the cat in a letter to her grandmother in Switzerland in April 1942. Moortje had then been living with them for six months and Anne fervently hoped for kittens since Moortje was often out and about.^[1]

On 6 July 1942, she had to say goodbye to Moortje. Moortje was not allowed to come with her into hiding. Her parents left a note and meat for the neighbours asking them to take care of Moortje. At least that's how Anne wrote it down in her 'novel' about the Secret Annex, the text she wrote with a view to possible publication after the war.^[2] However, in her diary she did not mention saying goodbye to Moortje. And according to Toosje Kupers, a girl who lived next door to Anne, Moortje was already placed with them a few weeks before they left to go into hiding.^[3]

Be that as it may, in the shelter Anne still regularly thought of Moortje. "There's always a tiny black cat roaming around the yard and it reminds me of my dear sweet Moortje."^[4] Even barely a month before the arrest, Anne was still thinking about Moortje. She regarded 'Scharminkeltje' (see below) as 'the new Moortje from the warehouse'.^[5] After the war, it would turn out that the neighbours had had to put down a weakened and sick Moortje during the war, presumably in mid-1944.^[6]

Mouschi

The Frank family went into hiding in the Secret Annex on 6 July 1942. A week later, the Van Pels family joined them. Anne knew by then - perhaps somewhat indignantly - that Peter would be bringing his cat Mouschi with him to the hiding place. According to helper Miep Gies, 'a skinny black tomcat'.^[7] In the first weeks, it took Anne a while to get used to Mouschi: 'Mouschi, the cat, is becoming nicer to me as time goes by, but I'm still somewhat afraid of her.'^[8]

A few weeks later, she wasn't scared any more. 'Musschi [sic] is back with mother now, just like a baby kitten, I have her all covered up and she looks cute.'^[9] Apart from being a companion, Mouschi also kept the rats and mice at bay. When rats were seen in the attic of the Secret Annex, Mouschi had to sleep there. The rats stayed away temporarily, but it was not an overwhelming success. Peter was severely bitten in the arm by a rat when he went to the attic to get old newspapers.

Mouschi also brought fleas into the Secret Annex. 'The house is crawling with fleas, it's getting worse by the day,' Anne sighed on 3 August 1943.^[10] Fortunately, helper Johannes Kleiman was able to obtain flea powder, but according to Anne, the fleas didn't really care. 'It's making us all very jittery; we're forever imagining a bite on our arms and legs or other parts of our bodies.'^[10]

When they were all arrested a year later, Mouschi presumably fled. The only person who noted anything about his fate is Miep Gies: 'During the arrest he must have run away and hid until now. "Come, Mouschi," I said firmly. "Come with me to the kitchen and get some milk. You will stay with me and Elli (Bep) in the office now."'^[11]

Boche and Tommie

Boche [Moffie] and Tommie were the company's cats. These were not their original names; during the war their names had been changed. Anne explains this in her diary: 'For a while the firm Gies & Co. had two cats: one for the warehouse and one for the attic. Their paths crossed from time to time, which invariably resulted in a fight. The warehouse cat was always the aggressor, while the attic cat was ultimately the victor, just as in politics. So the warehouse cat was named the German or "Boche", and the attic cat the Englishman or "Tommy".'^[12] What happened to Tommy/Tommie, Anne does not mention. 'They got rid of Tommy.'^[12]

Boche did spend some time at Prinsengracht. According to Miep, it was 'a big fat black and white cat with a somewhat battered head.'^[13] And Anne reports in her diary: 'The cat flipped himself over and stood up on his little white feet.'^[14]

Peter initially suspected that Boche was a female cat, because she was getting fatter and fatter. He even expected she would have kittens. Anne had a different explanation: she suspected it was from the many stolen bones. Eventually he realised his mistake and showed Anne at the warehouse that Boche was a male cat. "If any other boy had pointed out the 'male sexual organ' to me, I would never have given him a second glance. But Peter went on talking in a normal voice about what is otherwise a very awkward subject. Nor did he have any ulterior motives. By the time he was finished, I felt so much at ease that I started acting normally too."^[14]

When Boche fell ill in April 1944 - 'He sat quite still and started drooling'^[15] - Miep Gies took him to the vet. Something was wrong with his intestines. The medicine Miep brought along helped and Boche was soon back to normal. 'Peter gave it to him a few times, but Boche soon made himself scarce. I'll bet he was out courting his sweetheart.'^[15]

In May 1944, Boche disappeared without a trace, mostly to Peter's chagrin. 'Have I told you that our Boche has disappeared? We haven't seen hide nor hair of her since last Thursday. She's probably already in cat heaven, while some animal lover has turned her into a tasty dish. Perhaps some girl who can afford it will be wearing a cap made of Boche's fur. Peter is heartbroken.'^[16]

During World War II, countless cats disappeared. Because of the food shortage, cat meat - which tastes like rabbit - was seen as an acceptable alternative. And cat fur was also used, as Anne's quote shows. Cat owners were strongly advised to keep their pets indoors.

Scharminkeltje

Scharminkeltje first appeared in Anne's diary in June 1944. 'The new warehouse cat',^[17] evidently the replacement for Boche, was unfortunately not long for Prinsengracht. 'She sleeps in the cat box and does her business in the wood shavings. Impossible to keep her,' Anne noted succinctly.^[18]