A new documentary film celebrating the life of a famous Bristol feline has been released this week. Mogumentary follows Mog the cat – whose Instagram has 3,223 followers – as he strolled around the neighbourhood of Whiteladies Road, where he became a famous face.
Mog lived on Mornington Road, in the Redland area of the city. Known as Mog of Mornington, the tom became something of a tourist attraction in 2020 when a photo of him apparently waiting in line at a fishmonger went viral on Facebook.
His newfound fame saw dozens of cat fans visit the area in hopes of spotting Mog, tagging their sightings with his Instagram handle. The sociable kitty’s profile includes snaps of him hanging out at the local post office and in Tesco’s pet food aisle – where he would reportedly pinch both cat and dog treats.
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The movie also features footage of Mog wandering around the high street, in and out of his favourite shops including fishmonger Spiny Lobster, greengrocer Local Garden and coffee shop Tradewind, where he would often stop for oat milk in his very own bowl, labelled “Moggy”.
But the adventurous animal would also range far and wide around the city. One time he got as far as Henleaze, almost two miles away – a journey which took him around six hours, according to the GPS collar he wore.
The movie was made by documentary filmmaker Chloe May Law, a former UWE Bristol student who has lived in the city since 2018. “I graduated in filmmaking in 2020,” she said. “I had a bit of a quiet time in lockdown, when it was harder to make stuff. So I thought maybe I could make something with a tiny crew.”
The subject she chose was Mog, who had visited her student house several times. “He visited my house quite often and I thought he was very special,” said Chloe. “It turns out I wasn’t. But I didn’t mind, because he touched the lives of so many people who had interactions with him.
“He had a tag on his collar with a note which said, ‘Hello I’m Mog. Sorry if I’ve wandered into your house, please just pop me outside.’ Then I discovered the Instagram page and found he was visiting all the shops I visited too.
“I wanted to know more about him, there was an audience there who wanted to know him better, so I decided to make a documentary about it.” Chloe assembled a small film-making team comprising camera operator George Blu Byford, composer Ted Tooley and animator Kimball Wynn.
They followed Mog around Redland for a day, recording his interactions with residents and celebrity cat spotters. He was mostly obliging. “It was a great day,” said Chloe. “He was very patient most of the time and was happy with us following him but after a while he was like, ‘Come on now, who are you?’ There were times when he even took a swing at me.”
But Mog’s standoffish shell hid a soft, fluffy underbelly. “Because he’s used to being outside he has a tough attitude,” said Chloe. “He doesn’t want to be picked up and carried around. But he does adore people because he’s choosing to go around and meet these people.
“Barney the fishmonger had so many stories – apparently Mog was his very first customer. Lucy and Tom were great to work with too, they told the story in such an entertaining way.”
Lucy Standen and Tom Burns – Mog's self-described "cat parents" – said their beloved pet was “a diva” on the day of filming. “He was definitely grumpy that day,” said Lucy. “I'm sure he batted Chloe multiple times.” Mog was hit by a car and died in September of 2021, aged 8 or 9, while Chloe was editing the movie.
“We were worried that it would be rather emotional watching all the footage,” said Lucy. “But Chloe and her team brought so much joy and life with the animations and brilliant cinematography that we smiled the whole way through. It was a truly lovely tribute.”
She added: “We will never forget his high-pitch trills and meows as he gleefully came charging through the cat flap in the mornings ready for his breakfast. Quite often he would be covered in muck or smell of fresh laundry from the house that he slept at the night before.
“We would feed him, change the battery in his tracker and then he would be on his way, off on his adventures.”
The Mogumentary has already been well received, with both Sheffield DocFest and the Women X Film Festival singling it out for praise. “I was absolutely crushed to hear that Mog had passed away,” said Chloe, but it motivated me to finish because I wanted to offer everyone a nice way to remember him.
“People have responded with so much love towards it and towards him because he touched so many hearts, so I hope the documentary does the same. I really want to get it screened somewhere in Bristol and have all his fans meet up, maybe have a MogCon.”
She added: "It’s been really lovely to have conversations with people about him. People have been getting in touch since seeing the film and telling me their stories even now. He clearly had such an impact, I’m so glad we did it.”
The Mogumentary is available to watch now on Chloe’s YouTube channel, where it has accumulated over a thousand views in just two days. Subscribe for updates on the BFI award-nominated filmmaker’s upcoming projects, which include a doc called Bloody Mary challenging the taboo around period pain.
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