When it comes to cats, I sometimes think there are two kinds of people. The cat haters shudder when you mention the word "cat." "They're sneaky." "They climb everywhere." "They don't listen." "They won't love you like a dog will." The cat lovers smile when you tell them you have cats and are eager to see photos of your fur babies. Often they will pull out their phone to show you pictures of their own.
I am a cat lover and the carer of two cats. Of course I think the world of dogs and loved my Mini Schnauzer. But I not only adore my kitties, I find them fascinating. My dilute tortie Juliet speaks to me constantly. As soon as I sit down, she's on my lap and eyes me soulfully--her way of telling me to put down my Sudoku puzzle and rub under her chin. Her medium-haired brother Romeo retrieves cards and papers from the dining room table and drops them at my feet with the quietest meow. Both cats are always close by, and when they aren't they come as soon as I call them.
Yes, they do some of the things the haters accuse them of. While my two felines usually obey me when I tell them to stop doing something, they insist on climbing onto the kitchen table though they don't touch our food. They're good about using the scratching pads scattered around the house, but occasionally need to be reminded not to claw the dining room chairs. They are loving and affectionate.
Cats were revered in Ancient Egypt, but they haven't always had an easy time of it. In the Middle Ages, cats were reviled as witches' familiars and in league with the devil. Many were massacred. So many, in fact, that it's been said that the Black Death/Bubonic Plague in the fourteenth century killed so many people because cats, that would have killed the rats and the fleas on them that carried the plague, had been exterminated. Nowadays cats are popular pets, probably because of the invention of kitty litter in 1947.
Cats are clever, curious, and comical. They make wonderful companions to their sleuths in cozy mysteries and often add a dimension to the story. In my Haunted Library series, Carrie Singleton finds Smoky Joe, who started out life as a barn kitty, when he wanders onto her lawn. After he jumps into her car, she ends up bringing him to the library where she's head of programs and events.
And when Smoky Joe proves to be sociable with the patrons, he quickly becomes the library cat. He even takes part in the mysteries Carrie resolves—finding diamonds that no one can locate in one book and saving Carrie from a murderer in another.
These days, it's not only cozies where cats have a role. A kitten makes an appearance in the latest "Reacher" season on Netflix.
What do you think about cats as a pet or as a character in a mystery?
