Almost all the people dear to me have kept or are keeping cats as pets. Many of these beloved people have invited me to visit them. I can't go. I am extremely allergic to the little beasts.
This penchant for felines, it seems to me, is particularly true of mystery writers and readers. I don't know where she got the statistic, but my dear, dear departed first fiction agent, Nancy Love once told me that the image of a cat on the cover of a mystery would increase sales of the book by 9%.
I can tell you this about people in the mystery community: the ones I am in touch with on FaceBook and Instagram post a LOT of pictures of their cats.
I cannot own such a beast. Merely spending a night in a house where one lives can cost me a visit to the doctor. But I can display my cat credentials.
Here are the just some of the cats I have admired.
African Cats
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Italian Cats
An Italo-Egyptian Cat
An Egyptian Cat
Chinese Cats
A Sumerian Cat
New York Cats
The Sweetest Cat I've Ever Met
Next Event: Deivery of the manuscript due on May 10th!
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Stunning pictures! Judging by the historical ones, there does seem to be a deep connection between humans and felines.
ReplyDeleteI wonder if multiple cat pictures increases sales proportionately. I'm visualising a collage...
Thank you, Michael. Most of the shots are mine, but two are David's: the one of the kill and the spectacular one of the lion leaping out of the tree, having stolen a leopard's kill. We arrived just as he went up after it, and David captured three of him, including the the unbelievable one in flight.
DeleteI have a spectacular shot of the mating pair in flagrante, but I didn't post it, because I was afraid of embarrassing my brother Jeff.
I admit to wondering if the photos of lascivious cat-looks might have led to a more graphic photo shoot.
DeleteAnd the coolest cat of all is the one-eyed feline headlining the post!
ReplyDeleteThat you, my brother. It runs in the family!
ReplyDeleteEye-eye, sis.
DeleteGreat set of pix, Annamaria! I have to say, though, I don't fancy cleaning up after those lions. It's bad enough having to deal with partly eviscerated mice...
ReplyDeleteZoe, Then there are the dung beetles who take poop, roll it into a perfect ball, and lay their eggs in it. One person's - is another person's ++. :)
DeleteI love cats. I grew up with them and had two when I became allergic to them in my 20s.
ReplyDeleteI pet neighbors' cats, although none are around now.
The solution: robotic cats. No dander.
The Cat Ghost says "MEEP!"
ReplyDeleteTeehee! The Tweetie Bird Ghost says "Wunaway! Wunaway!"
DeleteKathy, I grew up afraid of cats. But that was before there was good Asthma medicine. Funny nowadays I am more afraid of being near house cats than I am of being near lions and leopards.
ReplyDeleteWhat? Most house cats are friendly beings or they're shy and hide from new people.
ReplyDeleteI've lived with wonderful cats who wanted human companionship, would curl up under the covers, on my lap, wherever. My family's cat had milk and cheese crackers with my father every night.
There are occasionally moody cats, but just avoid them.
I love house cats, but would not want to be near any of the big cats outside of a car with the windows rolled up.
A friend and his spouse went to South Africa and were on a car tour. He reached out of the window to move some leaves fr a photo. He said a leopard stared at him, ready to move. Her cub was nearby. (Never annoy a mama cat.)
The guide told him not to move an arm outside the window. He was lucky nothing happened.
Kathy, What I am afraid about house cats is not violence. It's asthma! When I was in Cuba last December, our group stayed in private houses on for two nights--a common practice in smaller cities there. There was a cat in the place where I stayed. And as you describe, it hid most of the time, so I didn't know it was there until too late. I got sick during the night the first night I was there. I had no choice but to stay another night. The ensuing weeks--in New York and Florence--involved a doctor's visit. Medication. A bad reaction to the medication. Another doctor's in a foreign language. More medication. I was all better a month later. As I said above. LOTS of people--and ones I love-- love cats for their charming personalities. I might to, but it could kill me to get close enough to find out.
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