Favourite cat stars!

1. Maru

A chubby, cuddly feline denizen of Japan, Maru is a superstar who has drawn more than 100 million views on YouTube. He stars in a series of hilarious videos, many showcasing his skill in squeezing his bulk into tiny boxes.

Now he "speaks" in a new book, I Am Maru (by William Morrow), which hits stores today.

2. Nora

Nora (born 2006) is a gray tabby cat, rescued from a shelter in Cherry Hill, New Jersey, who has become famous for "tapping" the piano. The Times of London, in its online edition, characterized her music as being "something halfway between Philip Glass and free jazz."

Nora was named after the artist Leonora Carrington. Nora was adopted, and when a year old, Nora climbed up onto the bench in front of a Yamaha Disklavier piano in the middle of the night and began to play.

Since that time, Nora has continued to play the piano on a daily basis (this sometimes annoys her owner), sometimes playing duets with her owner and her owner's students. The students encouraged the creation of a YouTube video, which was uploaded in early 2007. It received a large number of views and attracted the attention of other media. It was featured on many talk shows, newspapers and news channels including Martha Stewart, CNN, The Daily Show, Public Radio International, The Today Show and the Philadelphia Inquirer. Nora was featured on the syndicated television show, Wild About Animals, episode #332, in September 2010.

3. Garfield

Garfield (stylised as Garfield®) is a comic strip created by Jim Davis. Published since June 19, 1978, it chronicles the life of the title character, the cat Garfield (named after Davis's grandfather); his owner, Jon Arbuckle; and Arbuckle's dog, Odie. As of 2007, it was syndicated in roughly 2,580 newspapers and journals, and held the Guinness World Record for being the world's most widely syndicated comic strip.