May 13, 1977.

Despite living in a house with four cats, and being permanently covered in scratches from little paws, this is not a comment on their health or mine. Just thought I’d set the record straight.

Written by Ted Nugent, this appeared on the 1977 album of the same name and whilst Cat Scratch Fever is indeed a real thing, Nugent wasn’t talking about our feline friends when he came up with the song. He changed the meaning slightly so the song is basically about sex and his desires, with the ‘cats’ in question referring to women.

On its release the song made it as far as number thirty on the US chart and thirty-seven in Canada. Here in the UK though it fared slightly better, spending five weeks on the chart and peaking at number twenty-eight.