When a Cat Comes Calling

I have a soft spot in my heart for Manx cats. My mother’s cat, Boxcar, was a Manx. Boxcar had only one litter of kittens in her entire life, two little Siamese and a tiny runt, born a whole day after the first two. The little guy was a Manx and looked just like her. I asked Mom if I could have that tuft of fur and when he was weaned, I took him home. I called him Rinehart, after one of my all-time favorite authors. I loved that little fellow and the funny thing was, Matt’s dog Lady loved him too. They were pals. Lady would lie down on our very long driveway each day, waiting for me to come home from school. Riney lay on top of Lady, who was a furry, uncomplaining rug to rest on. One day Rinehart disappeared and although I searched and called, he never did come home. I grieved and Lady grieved. The first night after he was lost, she stood at the back door and howled, one shivering, heart-broken cry.

Speaking of cats, there’s a really neat children’s book,  The Winter Cat by Howard Knotts. My copy was published by Reader’s Digest in 1973 through an agreement with Harper & Row. That book, like Lady, belonged to Matt but I liked it too. It may be out of print now, but If you can find a copy and have some children in your life, I’ll bet they would enjoy it. Good literature doesn’t get out-dated and can never be unloved.

Years ago, I wrote a story called The Christmas Cat, but I wasn’t as fortunate as Howard Knotts. Mine never saw the light of day. However, an author has the privilege of including the things she loves in the books she writes, so, of course, Darcy and Flora have a cat.  Ned acquired a cat, Penny, in Moonlight Can Be Murder. Later, a dog, Ulysses, came to live with her. The two, Ulysses and Penny, turned out to be pretty good friends.  A cat kind of makes a house a home, doesn’t it?

Manos Mysteries

Mysteries with an Extra Shiver