Mike (c. 1908[1] – January 1929) was a cat who guarded the gates of the British Museum whose fame was such that Time magazine devoted two articles to him on his death.

Under Black Jack's guidance Mike would proceed to corner the pigeons, daze them, then bring them to the housekeeper, who would exchange the bird for a morsel of food and milk, and release them unharmed.

[2] Mike spent 20 years at the British Museum during which time he gained a certain notoriety for his misogynistic and cynophobic tendencies, pushing away any attempt at fraternisation with women and having a dislike for dogs.

High School girls in trim uniform; London street urchins, who make the portico a playground; black-robed monks, gaily sari-ed Hindu ladies, dapper little Japs, and horn-spectacled tourists, are all alike to him."

This work includes an ode composed by F. C. W. Hiley which ends: Mike's tombstone was erected near the Great Russell Street entrance and the inscription reads: "He assisted in keeping the main gate of the British Museum from February 1909 to January 1929.