Authors and Their Cats – Part II

When a man loves cats, I am his friend and comrade, without further introduction.

The above comment was penned by the famous author, Samuel Clemens, otherwise known as Mark Twain. Evidently, he had a real thing about cats. Another quote from Twain regarding cats goes like this:

I simply can’t resist a cat, particularly a purring one. They are the cleanest, cunningest, and most intelligent things I know, outside of the girl you love, of course.

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In Authors and Their Cats – Part I, I shared the fact that this novelist/author/writer did not come into a love of cats naturally. In fact, had it not been for my daughter, Rhonda, I might never have discovered what great pets cats can be.

However, even though I love my cat, I can’t say he inspires my writing. I very much enjoy the fact that he is in my lap if he wants to be, or sleeping on the window sill if he wants to be, or wandering about the house if he wants to be. He doesn’t blather all over me like a dog (though I quickly add I have nothing against dogs). But he doesn’t inspire my writing.

There’s just something peaceful about a cat – I think that’s what I enjoy most. And I do have to agree with Twain about a purring cat. It definitely is soothing to hear – and to feel. But still and all, he doesn’t inspire my writing.

What precipitated this line of thinking was this fascinating and interesting article.

Like most writers I was familiar with Hemingway and his famous six-toed cats, but this long list of authors and the cat-loves of their lives was a total surpriseBe A Novelist to me.

So now I’m even more thankful that God saw fit to bless me with a cat-loving daughter, so I could then become a bona fide, honest-to-goodness author. Not because I have authored 50+ books, but because I am a cat lover as well. (Tongue-in-cheek!)   Yea me!

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In the six-month writing course that I call the Be A Novelist, Six-Month, Finish-My-Novel Challenge we talk a great deal about what might stand in the way of your novel creation! It will be like looking into a mirror as you see yourself more clearly. This course offers six full months of guidance and instruction. Guaranteed to light a fire under your novel-writing attempts and to launch you into a pattern of consistent writing! Details right here!

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2 Responses to Authors and Their Cats – Part II

  1. Scott Barr says:

    Twain also said, “If a man were crossed with a cat, it would improve the man, but it would deteriorate the cat.” He was probably including women when he wrote men, considering the language and thought process of the time. Came across a small book called “Writers and Their Familiars.” So many writers, and especially poets, had cats…and such a large percentage of black cats. Too many cases to be by chance.
    Later…

  2. Angi MacAllister says:

    I am both a cat-loving daughter and a mother to my own cat-loving daughter. I also love dogs and horses, but can afford neither at this time. Cats seem to find me even when I’m not looking for them. I’m doing my best to help the Humane Society with their spay/neuter program. My neighborhood is certainly in need of their services, and in July, we captured 9 cats just on my end of the street. I call both of my indoor cats, “street-saved”, as they both came to me at different times right off this very street.

    I enjoyed this two-part article, and have to agree that you don’t have to be inspired by your cats to write, but their presence can so calm you, that you are free to rest and return later to work with renewed vigor.

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