Cats and Their Writers
A couple years ago, I wrote a post on writer essentials, but I neglected to add the most important desk accessory of all—a cat. Of course, at the time, I hadn’t yet adopted Duchess Marshmallow Bandit Thai, so I had no idea what I was missing out on. (Sleep; that’s what I was missing out on.)
Now no writing day feels complete without a swish of a tail on my keyboard, a plaintive yowl from some shelf behind my head. MB isn’t much of a cuddler, much to my dismay, but she enjoys lounging next to my monitor, surveying my drafts with painfully obvious judgment. If I’m stuck, I run my ideas past her. (“Add a cat!” is her resounding advice each time.) If I’ve chosen an untrue word, I practically feel her disapproval emanating from whatever perch she’s co-opted. The sound of her snores is my favorite soundtrack, her nibbles on my heel the cue for me to get up and stretch. It turns out that a cat is better than one of those Pomodoro timers.
What is it about cats that make them such wonderful creative companions? I think it’s that they contain some inherent mystery, punctuated with a solid dash of crude humor. MB sashays with breathtaking elegance in one moment, then turns around and licks her own butt in the next. Cats are both inexplicable and terribly simple. In them, we glimpse the conundrums and mundanity of the known world.
Whatever the nature of that beautiful alchemy between cats and creatives, I’m not alone in my reliance on a feline companion. Hemingway, of course, is the most well-known example of a writer with a coterie of kitty muses. Mark Twain rented cats when he went on vacation, so repellent was he to the idea of a cat-less day. Samuel Johnson’s cat, Hodge, immortalized in a bronze statue outside his home, dined on oysters that he fetched himself, lest the servants began to resent Hodge. I, too, have been known to sear a tiny steak for MB, who turns from it with nary a sniff after she sees it’s only chuck.
Can we begrudge these writers—myself included—for our oversized worship? To love a cat is to endure a peculiar, unrequited longing, a protracted and often one-sided love story. They might echo our warm feelings, but we must earn their affection day in and day out. Maybe it’s not surprising that writers often choose cats as companions, then; we do engage in that most masochistic of acts for a living.
Below, a selection of cats and their writers to inspire your workweek. And please, for the love of all that’s good and delightful, post pictures of your own cats in the comments. I need a strong argument to hire a second feline editor.
I've always considered myself a dog person, but there is something about cats that I find irresistible now. I used to bike through a farm where the resident cat liked to greet visitors. I'd always stop and look for her and spend quite a few minutes petting her as she walked in circles around my feet. She was so sweet.
Your cat is gorgeous—those colors! What a great writing buddy 🐾