Why did you decide to write this book?
Quite simply, I wrote the first draft as a gift for my mother. There was just one copy, and I bound it, illustrated it, and called it, My Mother’s Nine Cats.
This was in 1979, after we had lived on our farm for 10 years and our original family of cats had died or disappeared. My mother had never really recovered from losing Louie — her “Sun King,” as she called him — and when Elsie, the last of the barn cats died . . . she said, “No more!”
But of course, there were more cats.
In 2007, during a tumultuous move, I lost my ten-year-old cat Smudge. As a remedy for my grief, I began to write about her and, in doing so, thought about the original manuscript of My Mother’s Nine Cats.
I can only say I felt compelled to begin again the stories of the cats that, often too briefly, touched my life as only a cat can do.
What is it about cats that make them so special? Or maybe, what was it about your cats? They're not always the friendliest of creatures!
My cats have been no more special than any other cat — they are simply special to me because I have paid attention to their personalities and needs, for which they have rewarded me with companionship.
There’s a misconception about cats not being friendly. They are — very. They simply make friends on their own terms. Cats play, they communicate, they comfort . . . but unlike dogs, who live to please their humans, cats live to please themselves. In my view, no one said it better than Kipling — “The cat, he walked by himself, and all places were alike to him.” This independence seems to translate, for people who don’t care for cats, as aloofness or even wickedness, but I think it is this independent spirit that cat people love.
In the book you write about your ability to communicate on an almost telepathic level with some of your cats. How did that develop?
I became aware of it with a cat named Louie. I would have to say he trained us (my mother and me), and it began with food. When his kibble dish was empty, he quietly entered the room where one or both of us were, sat down, and stared. At first we ignored him . . . but we noticed if someone went towards him, he took off to the pantry where his food was kept. We were quick learners. However, it eventually got so that Louie did not even have to enter the room. I can only say it was like this . . . he went into the pantry and patiently summoned us! “I think Louie wants chow,” one of us would say, looking up from the TV . . and sure enough, there he would be sitting on the counter beside the box of cat chow.
The illustrations are beautiful. How did you come to commission Dwight Kirkland? And what can you tell us about him?
I had a very definite idea in my mind as to how I wanted the stories illustrated — a realistic portrait in a setting that was unique to each cat. So I needed someone who could not only illustrate cats well, but someone who could read the personality of the cat as well as someone who could “read my thoughts.” A colleague directed me to a website dedicated to freelance artists, and I timidly (I must say) posted my job. Much to my surprise, I had over 60 responses — probably ten of which were very, very good. Oddly enough, Dwight was my very first response . . . and he remained number one until the end. I just really like the way he captured his animals in their natural settings — I did not simply want a “portrait.”
As for telling you about him . . . well I can only say he is one talented guy. Go to his website, and you will see. He lives in Pennsylvania with his family — and we have never met — but we sure did have a lot of correspondence for several months, and by the way, he pretty much got every illustration the way I envisioned it the first time . . . so I guess you could say he read my mind!
Why did you want to share these stories with an audience?
Once I began to write the stories and actively look for an illustrator, I realized I was no longer doing the book just for me. I also noticed that there were very few books of cat stories in bookstores compared to those of dogs and horses. I shared the manuscript with a few people, and the response was very positive, so I thought — hey — there are a lot of cat people out there, and I’m sure these stories would have meaning for them. I know I buy every cat book — not cat care, but cat stories — that I come across.
Is there a special cat in your life right now?
Minou. She came to us through the Moncton SPCA. I had been to the SPCA a couple of times to look at cats, but I would get so confused — it is so heartbreaking to be surrounded by so many cats needing homes. But then I got a call about Minou, and when I saw her, I knew instantly that she was the one. She was extremely timid — possibly the result of abuse — and spent about a week under the bed when I brought her home. After almost a year, she has perfectly settled into life with my husband and me. But the best thing is that David has finally fallen in love with a cat!
