April 8th, 2007 Cats and Books

Although the weather may be better by the time this article runs, right now it appears that winter has returned with a vengeance and the snow is swirling and the wind is howling. My thoughts keep turning to a fireside chair, a good book and a warm cat purring nearby. There is something about the cat which goes well with reading, and literature abounds with cat characters, cat themes and cat subject matter.

Cats in the Library
Although I don't think it's a good idea due to the number of persons who suffer from allergies, some bookstores and libraries have cats as mascots who live on site and are enjoyed by the visitors. There is even one cat, named Dewey, who was rescued by a librarian in a small town in Iowa and who lived out his 19 years on the premises. The story of this cat just sold for 1.25 million dollars and the publisher who will print the tale of this kitty thinks it will be money well spent for cat-lovers will flock to this book like dog-lovers did to Marley and Me.

Lucky Cats
Dewey was one lucky cat, or should I say, his owner the Iowan librarian is one lucky woman. My cat Rocky is another lucky cat - lucky that he has owners who will tend to his outrageous demands for feedings every two hours and constant attention. But the kind of lucky cat I like to visualize are the Japanese beckoning cats one often sees in images and statuary in stores or restaurants. The cat seems to be sitting and has one paw raised as if in greeting or calling. Maneki-neko is the Japanese name, and these cats are thought to bring good luck and protect the owner from pain or ill health.
Source: www.namaii.com/manekineko/

Cats and Mysteries
Going back to Edgar Allen Poe and his psychological story The Black Cat, cats have been intriguing characters for mystery writers. After the success of Lillian Jackson Braun's series about Quill and his feline crime-busters Koko and Yum Yum, cats became regular features in mystery novels. All of the cat mystery stories are cozies, that is, warm and somewhat comic mysteries which are entertaining to read. Besides the Braun books, there is Big Mike the Abyssinian alley cat and his bookstore owner in the series by Garrison Allen, Rita Mae Brown's cat, Mrs. Murphy who often seems smarter than her owner, Carole Douglas's Midnight Louie who talks to fellow animals but can only purr to his owner and finally, the most anthropomorphic of them all, the Joe Grey mysteries by Shirley Rousseau Murphy. Joe Grey and Dulcie are regular feline Sherlock Holmes' and not only can they speak English with their owner, they can order take out and call in anonymous tips to police in order to solve crimes. Author Susan Campbell Bartoletti says it best : "nobody's cozier than a cat- a purred up, curled up, take-a-nap cat."
Source: NoveList database

Cats for Kids and Kids for Cats
When I am giving tours of the library for children, usually one of the first questions I get from a child trying to locate books is where are the cat books? There is a group of children who would gladly pour over glossy cats books for hours. And as with the books for adults, cats are well-loved and well-used characters in children's literature too. There are fables like Belling the Cat and nursery rhymes like The Three Little Kittens Who Lost Their Mittens. There are pussy cat parables like Millions of Cats , feline fairy tales like Puss-in-Boots and poems like The Owl and the Pussycat. For beginning readers there is the series featuring Rotten Ralph the cat and most notably, the Cat in the Hat. 2007 is the 5oth anniversary of this revolutionary Dr.Seuss book . Prior to 1957, the books written for children who were learning to read were very dull and repetitive with phrases like See Spot run. Run, run, run. Spot can run. The cat in the hat burst onto the scene with

Look at me! Look at me! Look at me now! It is fun to have fun but you have to know how. I can hold up the cup and the milk and the cake! I can hold up these books! And the fish on the rake!

This book went on to spawn a series of beginner books like Hop on Pop, Green Eggs and Ham and other beloved classics.

But this is merely scratching the surface of all of the creative works that cats have inspired. From ancient Egyptian mythology and the tales of Bastet to Stimpson J. Cat of the Ren and Stimpy cartoons, cats have been hugely popular in the arts as allegories, icons and perhaps as mirrors to ourselves. Authors as diverse as T.S.Eliot, Mark Twain and William S. Burroughs have found inspiration in cats. So if you have a feline companion, why not invite him to your lap this evening and enjoy reading a book featuring or about cats as you let the cat's purring be your musical background and you feel your blood pressure lower and your soul relax.

Recommended for further reading: Cat World: A Feline Encyclopedia by Desmond Morris

Angela Meady is the Head of Children's & Youth Services