12 famous cats make the world a better place (VIDEOS)

One of the reasons the internet exists is to bring the world together with cat pictures and videos. One of the reasons GlobalPost exists is to point that out. Here are 12 cats who are famous in their own right:

1) Socks

Otherwise known as "First Cat," Socks made a name for himself as Bill Clinton's right-hand man.

Socks the Cat (1989-2009) gives a press conference. (Barbara Kinney/The White House via Wikimedia Commons)

2) The Right Honourable Larry

Chief Mouser to the Cabinet Office at 10 Downing Street, Larry is a brown and white tabby rescue cat who took up office in February 2011. According to the Daily Telegraph, he is one of 100,000 cats employed by the British government to keep down mice.

Larry. (Peter Souza/The White House via Wikimedia Commons)

3) Grumpy Cat

Grumpy Cat's real name is Tardar Sauce. She is an internet sensation known for her grumpy expression.

Grumpy Cat. (Anna Hanks via Wikimedia Commons)

4) Maru

A male Scottish Fold of the straight hair variety, Maru lives in Japan but has become wildly popular on the internet the world over. As of April 2013, videos with Maru have been viewed more than 200 million times.

5) Keyboard Cat

Charlie Schmidt's cat, Fatso, became an internet sensation for "playing" an electronic keyboard. In reality, Schmidt is manipulating the cat under a baby's T-shirt, but that doesn't take away from the majesty of the performance.

6) Nora

Nora is a gray tabby who was rescued from a shelter in Cherry Hill, New Jersey. She has become famous for "tapping" the piano, and her music has been described as "something halfway between Philip Glass and free jazz."

7) Henri, le Chat Noir

The "existential cat" was propelled to stardom through a web series of short films created by William Braden.

8) Surprised Kitty

Surprised Kitty is a gray-and-white kitten being tickled that reacts by throwing its hands back whenever the tickling stops.

9) Barking Kitty

This little guy in Russia may look like a cat but he sure sounds like a dog. At least when he thinks no one is looking.

10) Sockington

Sockington is a domestic cat who lives in Waltham, Mass., and posts regularly to Twitter. Currently, Sockington has 1.4 million followers.

Sockington's press photo. (Wikimedia Commons)

11) CC

"CC" stands for "Copy Cat," so named because she was the first cloned pet.

CC at 7-weeks-old with Allie, her surrogate mother, Feb. 14, 2002. (Texas A&M University/Getty Images)

12) Choupette Lagerfeld

Karl Lagerfeld's muse and pet cat.

13) Kitten Wearing a Tiny Hat

Oh, why not add one more. For good measure, here is a video of a large cat smacking a small cat who is wearing a top hat: