If you’ve ever tried reading with a cat in the house, you’ll know – you’re not the one in charge. My cat likes to sit by my side whenever I am reading. I don’t have a problem with that. He should mind his own business. I will carry on with mine. The problem begins when Sasha starts to rub himself in my face. Often, he jumps on the study desk. Without hesitation, he sits in my lap or on the book I am reading.
Then, come his meows. I pull the book from beneath his rump and dust off the hair strands. Before I gather my concentration, he starts looking at me with his pleading eyes.
The Art of Feline Manipulation
The fact that the first thing I do when I wake up is feed him doesn’t count. He wants my attention. I mean he feigns he wants to be fed. But I know as well as he does that it’s only a pretense – a means to get attention. A means to get scritches, chin rubs and pats on his rump. A means to get kibbles – but that’s not true.
I am sure I am not going overboard when I say this: Cats are therapeutic creatures. They possess some centripetal energy. They suck all the negativity off you.
You enter home after a long day with your head down. A day when your boss erupted like a volcano and you were in his crosshairs. Your furry pet with its dilated pupils senses your presence and saunters to where you are sitting. It starts rubbing itself against your legs. It does this while it is oblivious to the hell you went through in the office.
Again, that doesn’t count. What counts is that it has your attention. What counts is that your mind effortlessly segues from office to home. Sasha has had that therapeutic effect on me. I tell my wife that he is our therapist who lives rent-free in our house.
Scholars in Fur Coats
Coming back to Sasha doing his thing when I am reading or writing. His antics have led me to concoct a theory. I think Sasha, in his past life, was a scholarly creature. Most cats seem to be.
They adore the presence of books. Their presence in a bookshop or a library is almost a good omen. They stare at you, their tails flipping in small jolts from right to left.
That’s exactly how Aggie (Agatha), the resident cat at Shakespeare & Company, reacted to my pspsps. I extended my hand to pet her but then saw the cardboard sign buried behind her. It said, “Aggie the cat was up all night reading. Please let her sleep.” I let her be.
Aggie passed away in Nov 2022 and the news left my eyes moist. I had only known her for less than 10 minutes.
The “Cat Effect”
Let’s stick to feline companionship in the world of books. Have you noticed how some authors smartly use cats on the book covers? I recently read a laidback book called What You Are Looking For Is In The Library by a Japanese author. It had a black cat with its back towards the reader. Since I selected the book on Amazon, the algorithm has started showing me more books with cats. A cat hanging from a tree, a cat by a window, a cat sprawled on a chair.
That also got me curious if books with cats sell better. I looked it up but found nothing certain. Still, I think authors of cozy mysteries, lifestyle, or self-help books should put cats on their covers. The “Cat Effect” might just work and boost their sales.
Your Furry Guardians of Wisdom
I read somewhere that cats were invited to live in the monastic libraries in Europe during the Middle Ages. They slept by day and hunted rats by night. Not a bad deal if you ask me. I doubt the monks had to put up with the tantrums. No wet tuna demands or begging for kibbles just to get a bit of attention. It was a simpler arrangement.
Today, house cats are more spoiled. Sasha is the keeper of my personal library, but he acts more like a pampered prince. I let him be. He has earned his spot, just like those old library cats did.
So, when your cat plants itself on your book while you’re tangled in a chapter, don’t complain. It’s not mischief. No, it’s tradition. Your cat is fulfilling a duty, passed down through generations. A guardian of wisdom. The toll is paid in a rub on the chin or a pat on the rump.
And truth be told, uninterrupted reading is overrated. Especially with a furry pet sitting on your book, watching you like it knows better. My cat stares at me like it’s grading my efforts.
You might think you’re reading, but until your cat approves, you’re just passing the time.
What about you? Do you have a cat who decides when you’re allowed to turn the page? Tell me about it in the comments. Let’s hear about your furry librarian.
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If you will definitely enjoy We’ll Prescribe You a Cat. Japanese books are wonderful about including cats into their stories.
Yes, Pam. That’s something I have also noticed about Japanese feel-good fiction. Most of them seem to have cats on their cover.
Japan is very cat oriented. I love their cat cafe concept.