Was Baudelaire… a Cat?

Les Fleurs du Mal & Feline Mystique Charles Baudelaire: poet, provocateur, symbolist pioneer… secret cat? On his 204th birthday (fashionably late, of course), Clowder Press paid tribute to the velvet-pawed soul behind Les Fleurs du Mal. 

This video poses an essential question: when Théophile Gautier called someone "a voluptuous wheedling cat with velvety manners" — was he talking about a cat… or Baudelaire? While the poet’s verses seduce with darkness and decadence, they also purr with cat-love. 

Three poems in his infamous collection are dedicated to cats, written with the adoration only a true ailurophile could muster. Though no specific feline companion is named, rumors of broken relationships over cat-hatred and a habit of ignoring humans to commune with cats speak volumes. 

If being aloof, sensuous, impeccably groomed, and emotionally unavailable makes you a cat — well, case closed. 

🐾 Watch, wonder, and weigh in: Baudelaire or cat? 

📚 For more literary mischief, visit Creative Cats